Lyonnaise des Eaux: seeking new ideas on water
In 2010, Lyonnaise des Eaux launched the first collaborative platform on the future of water. For a period of one year, New Ideas on Water [Idées Neuves sur l’Eau] invited web users and experts to propose and share their ideas on all aspects of this natural resource. Here are the results.
The era of easy water now seems to have passed. It has now made way for the era of fragile water. Due to demographic trends and climate change, our water resources are becoming inexorably rare and access to them is becoming increasingly difficult worldwide. These new challenges involve not only the general public, but are also radically transforming the water and sanitation sectors. This is why, in February 2010, a SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT subsidiary, Lyonnaise des Eaux, initiated New Ideas on Water. The collaborative platform, developed for information and educational purposes, is the fruit of a vast program of work, dialog and creative and collective thinking revolving around the absolute need to protect our water resources, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Reinventing the water model together
Several tools have been implemented to facilitate this vast collaborative effort. Throughout 2010, New Ideas on Water offered French citizens an opportunity to discuss their points of view on this subject, by posting suggestions on the interactive website, www.ideesneuvessurleau.net. The purpose of this interactive forum was several-fold: to mobilize citizens, as well as to call for dialog, collective intelligence, creativity and the exchange of ideas to reinvent, together, the water model of tomorrow. With over 100,000 hits per year, the site has collected nearly 350 proposals relating to various water problems. It is a revealing indicator of the French public’s growing interest in this subject-each citizen is seeking to contribute to the preservation of water resources.
Forty great ideas on water
How can we save water at home? How can we preserve aquatic environments, knowing that 23% of surface water and 43% of groundwater have a chance of being ecologically viable by 2015? All these questions, and so many others, are specifically answered in the Notebook on Forty Great Ideas on Water: an entertaining original publication that selects the best proposals from web users in the form of proverbs, quotes or common-sense ideas. Here is a sampling: “Stop watering city roads with drinking water”, “ban pesticides and fertilizers from agricultural practices”, “dye the water gold to signify that it is a rare resource”, and even “save water-shower with a friend” (Groucho Marx).
Listening to the general public
As part of the New Ideas on Water effort, an ideas forum chaired by academic Erik Orsenna – author of the 2008 L’avenir de l’eau [The Future of Water]. Philosopher and former Education Secretary Luc Ferry also brought together scientists, economists, elected officials, urban planners, and representatives of the water administration, NGOs and various other associations to two sessions. The first, which was held from February to March 2010, was dedicated to the value and price of water. The second, in October 2010, focused on the theme Water, Science and Technology. These two sessions were the subject of Notebooks on Water, a review that in particular included the contributions of Erik Orsenna, Luc Ferry and Jean-Louis Borloo, as well as a list of “Ten New Ideas on Water” put forward by Forum participants.
New solutions to come in 2011
As a pioneer in water innovation, Lyonnaise des Eaux is currently engaged in studying ideas by experts, inspired by the forums for reflection and for internet users posted on the platform. On April 28, 2011, seven of them were honored in the presence of the Managing Director of Lyonnaise des Eaux , Isabelle Kocher, Erik Orsenna and Luc Ferry. These ideas completely address the commitments of the SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT subsidiary to promote better water management. As part of the trend in increasing awareness, information, communications and approval of the general public, these Seven New Ideas on Water focus on strengthening the management of contracts with local communities, the right to information of society as a whole, and the protection of resources. Aware that the future of water must be shaped by all involved, publicly and privately, and shared by all, Lyonnaise des Eaux will present its conclusions by the end of 2011, with a view to offer new solutions for the future of water.
