S5E13 - Radical Collaboration: 12 Staggering Ideas to Regenerate the Water World | (don't) Waste Water! | Water Tech to Solve the World

Description

BlueTech Forum 2022's Theme was straightforward: Radical Collaboration for Regeneration.

For two packed days, the Vancouver convention center hosted the hottest and most insightful discussions on the fate of our Water World. Keynote speakers, start-up founders, end-users, industry experts, investors, and civil society gathered under the flag of "Radical Collaboration"

I was blessed with a spot next to the conference hall, which allowed me to welcome some industry legends on my microphone:

🎙️ Menno Holterman (President & CEO @ Nijhuis Saur Industries)

🎙️ Snehal Desai (EVP & Chief Growth and Sustainability Officer @ Evoqua Water Technologies)

🎙️ Ralph Exton (Chief Marketing & Chief Digital Officer @ SUEZ - Water Technologies & Solutions)

🎙️ Kimberly Kupiecki (Director & Global Leader Sustainability ESG, Advocacy, Communications @ DuPont)

🎙️ Jon LIberzon (VP & Head of Business Development @ Tomorrow Water)

🎙️ Kamakshi Sharma (Director of Marketing and Strategy @ Aquatech International)

We discussed:

🖐️ Radical Collaboration for Regeneration - What's in it for you? (00:51)

🚶‍♂️ How does Radical Collaboration translate into a company's actions? (05:59)

💰 Is M&A a way to collaborate? (11:16)

💬 Tomorrow Water & Aquatech's Elevator Pitches (17:24)

👼 Was collaboration the key to Evoqua's rebirth? (19:39)

🚀 How does SUEZ interact with the water start-up ecosystem? (22:26)

🌱 Walking the Sustainability Talk (23:41)

💽 Leveraging synergies between datacenters and wastewater treatment plants (26:31)

🎬 Reality check: where do we start from? (28:10)

🌆 How do we better integrate water infrastructure with urban design? (30:12)

💪 How does success look like in the future? (34:04)

🤝 How is it to be back to live interactions? (42:56)

🔥 Rapid Fire Questions: 🔥

😅 Can you name one thing that you've learned the hard way? (46:27)

⌚ What is the very very very latest thing you've learned? (48:32)

We mentioned:

The History of US Filter

The Veolia/SUEZ merger

The Dynamics of Water Innovation

The book "Flourish"

The (slow) rise of Reuse

Special thanks to Paul O'Callaghan, Aoife Kelleher, and Annyse Balkwill for the invite and support during this amazing Forum!

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About (don't) Waste Water! | Water Tech to Solve the World

❓ Ever wondered how the #WaterIndustry was reacting to our World's Water Challenges? Water Scarcity? #SDG6? PFAS? Climate Change? Circular Economy? Digitization and Smart Water?

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➡️ Leverage their insights, advice & experience and ensure to stay on top of best practices

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🌐 Find all the detailed episode notes, interviews, infographics, and more at http://dww.show

Currently in its 10th Season, the "(don't) Waste Water" podcast has already welcomed around 250 guests from Water Majors (SUEZ, Veolia, Jacobs, Xylem, Kemira, Evoqua, Aquatech, SKion Water...), Scale-Ups (Cambrian Innovation, Epic Cleantec, Gradiant, Liqtech, 374Water, Gingko Bioworks...), Start-Ups (Puraffinity, KETOS, 120Water, ZwitterCo, Membrion, Source...), Universities (Berkeley, the Columbia Water Center), Investment Funds (Sciens Water, Mazarine, Burnt Island Ventures...), Business Accelerators (Imagine H2O, Elemental...), Book Authors (Seth Siegel, David Sedlak, David Lloyd Owen...) or Market Intelligence Companies (BlueTech Research, Global Water Intelligence, World Bank, OECD, Isle Utilities...). Or simply water legends like Gary White, Mina Guli or Andrew Benedek!

On the "(don't) Waste Water" podcast, I strive to make the Water Industry easy to understand for everyone, starting with water professionals, executives, and investors. Hence, he opens the microphone to seasoned, inspirational water experts to discuss their field of excellence.

No one can claim an all-around in-depth understanding of a matter as complex as Water. But piece by piece, you can rebuild the puzzle. With curiosity, patience, and passion, Antoine Walter explores topics such as Advanced Treatment Technologies, Water-Energy Nexus (Hydrogen, Lithium...), PFAS removal, Nature-Based Solutions, Wastewater Reuse, Distributed Water Treatments, Water Finance, and Water Entrepreneurship.

I actually firmly believe that regular listeners of the "(don't) Waste Water" podcast may, in the end, claim a "Water MBA!"

A particular field of interest is how innovation forms, grows and gets widely adopted in a complex and conservative field like the Water Industry. This may be one of the keys to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal n°6 - #SDG6.

Oh, and in short, about me: I'm a water engineer turned avid student of the water business, market, finance, and tech. I'm married, a happy father of three, and I'm French (nobody's perfect 😅).