May 24, 2017 - Nyarugusu, Tazania. Life in the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp. Taken by Sean Sheridan, for Water Mission.
N. Charleston, SC – June 9, 2020 – Water Mission, a nonprofit Christian engineering organization, and OxyChem have been recognized by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) with two “2020 Sustainability Leadership Awards.” The ACC annually awards four member companies and one external organization for their accomplishments developing innovative products and technologies that help advance sustainability.
Water Mission was recognized by the ACC with the 2020 External Collaborator award in acknowledgment of its partnership with OxyChem addressing the global water crisis. OxyChem and Water Mission jointly received a “2020 Sustainability Leadership Award” in the Societal Contributions category for their work together to bring clean, safe water to the 2.2 billion people worldwide who currently lack access.
“We appreciate the ACC’s recognition of our sustainable work to design, build, and implement safe water solutions,” said Water Mission CEO George C. Greene IV, PE. “Our work with OxyChem brings clean, safe water to those in need and is helping to support preventive efforts to combat the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Water Mission utilizes OxyChem’s best-in-class ACL® product line (Chlorinated Isocyanurates) for potable water chlorination, ensuring water in at-risk communities, healthcare facilities, and refugee settlements is safe to drink. To date, OxyChem has donated more than 120 thousand pounds of ACL chlorine water disinfection tablets, allowing Water Mission to provide more than 843 million gallons of clean drinking water.
“We are proud to receive this recognition from the ACC. As one of the world’s leading producers of chlorine, coupled with our commitment to make a positive social impact today and for future generations, we’re pleased to play a role in helping Water Mission provide safe water solutions that can work across the globe,” said OxyChem President B.J. Hebert. “We’ve been in sanitation chemistry for many years and this is a natural role for OxyChem and the products we make. Our ACL® tablets use chlorine to disinfect water, killing viruses, germs and other bacteria to make the water safe.”
Healthcare providers in developing nations often work in facilities that lack access to safe water for drinking and cleaning, making both treatment and containment of infectious diseases like COVID-19 nearly impossible. OxyChem’s ACL® product line is a critical piece of Water Mission’s safe water solutions, purifying contaminated water sources and eliminating deadly bacteria and viruses.
Additionally, Water Mission is responding globally to COVID-19 by educating communities about the importance of social distancing and proper hygiene practices, installing handwashing stations at water access points to minimize the risk of transmitting the virus, and working with health officials within its areas of operation to support collaborative initiatives. These comprehensive and preventive measures are designed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in countries spanning Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
About Water Mission
Water Mission is a nonprofit Christian engineering organization that designs, builds, and implements safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) solutions for people in developing countries and disaster areas. Since 2001, Water Mission has used innovative technology and engineering expertise to provide access to safe water for more than five million people in 56 countries. Water Mission has 350 staff members working around the world in permanent country programs located in Africa, Asia, North, South and Central America, and the Caribbean. Notably, Charity Navigator has awarded Water Mission its top four-star rating 13 years in a row, a distinction shared by less than one percent of the charities rated by the organization. To learn more, visit watermission.org.
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