Water: Emerging Risks and Opportunities Summit

by Samantha Guidon*

On February 8, 2013, with an imminent Winter Storm Nemo on the horizon, over 250 industry leaders and key players in the water sector came together at Goldman Sachs in New York City to begin the dialogue on addressing water risks throughout the country. Students from the Master of Environmental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania joined the Wharton Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (Wharton IGEL) team in attending this event to gain key perspectives from leaders in the water sector. Entitled “Water: Emerging Risks and Opportunities Summit,” the conference identified areas in need of improvement and discussed opportunities from various points of view. A welcoming address from David Solomon, Co-Head of the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, established the overall goals of bringing together capital, technology, and policy in order to determine best management practices within the water sector.

Examining the State of Water Projects in Developing Countries

The University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Global Water Initiative, with help from IGEL, is undertaking a survey of organizations who work in water supply and treatment in developing nations.  The goal is to figure out how to best measure success in these projects.  If you are a member of an NGO, government entity or company that works to provide water, please take a look!  We’ll be releasing a paper in the fall with our findings. Click here to be taken to the survey.