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Electrolux unveils YourWaterMark app

We've all heard about the Carbon Footprint - the amount of CO2 emitted by our everyday activities. It's a powerful concept that helps us to understand and monitor our personal and collective impact. Now, Electrolux unveils its YourWaterMark app -which helps assess individual water consumption at home to spread awareness about the need to conserve.

For many of us, water is everywhere. We drink it, bathe in it, cook with it, clean our homes with it. We use it every day and rarely think twice about it. And yet according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world's population could be living under water stressed conditions.

Electrolux believes that it's time to stop and recognise our impact on the water supply, and the appliance manufacturer has developed a Facebook application that assesses the amount of water individuals use on a daily basis - not just when we shower or brush our teeth, but when we make decisions about what to eat, how to commute and more. Global Green USA, an environmental non-profit organisation and affiliate of Green Cross International, sourced and verified the calculations that underlie YourWaterMark.

"YourWaterMark is not an exhaustive measure, but it is designed to expose ways that we consume water every day, sometimes beyond the obvious, and build awareness of the desperate need to conserve," explains Matt Petersen, President and CEO of Global Green USA. "This application is a means of helping people understand their impact and getting them to pay attention to the very real issue of global water scarcity."

As a recognised leader in the Durable Household Products category by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, Electrolux has a long-standing commitment to water conservation. As part of its sustainability strategy, it has already surpassed its 2014 water reduction goal of 20% in its operations. Electrolux has equal focus on its appliances. Its dishwashers use at least 40% less water than was used just 10 years ago and its most advanced washers use 63% less water than washers from just 10 years ago.

Henrik Sundstrom, Head of Sustainability Affairs at Electrolux, explains further: "Water is an essential yet finite resource, and millions around are the world are affected by scarcity and lack of access to clean sources. As a home appliance manufacturer, it's important that we do our part, by acting responsibly as a company, by delivering water-efficient products and by helping to raise awareness of the need for change."

Along with YourWaterMark scores, users are provided with information about the water scarcity issue and advice for reducing their impact from Zem Joaquin, eco expert and founder of EcoFabulous.com

"My dedication to an eco lifestyle was inspired by my kids, so I like to include them in the effort," says Zem Joaquin. "It's about simple changes, like washing fruit and vegetables in a bowl instead of under a running tap, and then reusing that water to water houseplants. The little things make a big difference."

You can test YourWaterMark at www.Facebook.com
T: 08445 613 613
W: www.electrolux.co.uk
www.un.org

30th August 2013