The WWF-Pakistan and Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FCCI) signed an MoU to organise awareness raising sessions for the industrial sector and capacity-building seminars on water and energy conservation.
WWF-Pakistan Director, Climate, Energy and Water Dr Masood Arshad and FCCI President Chaudhry Muhammad Nawaz signed the MoU.
In order to promote water conservation in the textile and sugar industries, WWF-Pakistan in collaboration with Cleaner Production Institute (CPI), organised an awareness seminar on Best Water Management Practices (BWMPs) at the FCCI, Faisalabad. The seminar was a part of WWF-Pakistan’s European Union funded project City-wide Partnership for Sustainable Water Use and Water Stewardship in SMEs in Lahore, Pakistan (WSP).
General managers and engineers from almost 80 industries were present on the occasion. The objective of the seminar was to sensitise the local industrialists on the efficient use of water and energy through BWMPs in the light of lessons gathered from industrial audits and national and international best practices. The participants were informed regarding environmental as well as economic benefits of applying different BWMPs at the enterprise level.
Sohail Ali Naqvi, Senior Project Officer, WSP Project, WWF-Pakistan, gave a brief overview of WWF-Pakistan’s work and efforts to promote water conservation in the country. He explained that water conservation is crucial as Pakistan is a water stressed country, thus affecting human lives. Naqvi said, “In different cities of Punjab, water pollution is becoming a serious health hazard as reported by the Punjab Directorate of Health.”
Naqvi also gave an overview about the project and informed the audience about participating target districts and industrial sectors. He also shared details about the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) standards for industries which will help to promote water sustainability in the corporate sector. “AWS standards are designed to give companies a systematic and verifiable way to assess their own water use and impact on the surrounding catchment, while providing a mechanism through which they can engage constructively with other stakeholders,” he added.
