Xylem

What is it?

A NYSE-listed global water technology leader which has put energy efficiency at the heart of its innovative product portfolio.

What has it done?

Through a combination of high-efficiency technologies and industry outreach, Xylem has already reduced the CO2 footprint of its water customers by over 1 million metric tons in the first two years of its ambitious five-year sustainability drive.

What makes it special?

Xylem has established far-reaching sustainability goals that seek to reduce water’s CO2 footprint by over 2.8 million metric tons by 2025. In 2020 alone the company reported carbon reductions of 0.7 million metric tons –s equivalent to keeping 150,000 cars off the road.

The achievement was chiefly realised through Xylem’s deployment of high-efficiency technologies and digital solutions that reduce the need for traditional carbon-intensive infrastructure. Xylem’s Flygt Bibo Alpha pump, for example, reduces energy usage by 60% versus traditional dewatering pumps. Successful case studies include EWE Wasser’s Cuxhaven WWTP in Germany, where Xylem’s technologies resulted in a 30% reduction in aeration energy use, corresponding to 1.1 million kWh annual energy savings.

Xylem has also leveraged its industry-leading position to steer the zero carbon transition. To coincide with COP26 in 2021, the firm published a paper demonstrating how 50% of energy-related emissions from the wastewater sector can be abated with existing technologies – and that 95% of this impact is achievable at no cost. The firm also partnered with a host or international bodies including UK Water, the US Water Alliance, and the International Water Association, among others, to support the ‘Race to Zero’ campaign led by the UN’s High-Level Climate Champions for Climate Action.

Jacobs Engineering

What is it?

An engineering consulting giant deploying a technology-led services portfolio to slash the carbon footprint of its global water customer base.

What has it done?

Having already achieved net-zero carbon across its own operations, Jacobs is now leveraging its client partnerships to enable rapid decarbonisation across sectors, eliminating 23.8 million client tonnes of CO2 in a year. By focusing on climate change mitigation measures across its research, design, construction, and consultancy work, Jacobs has cemented its position as a thought leader in engineering climate solutions.

What makes it special?

Net Zero Labs, launched by Jacobs in 2021, is a collaborative workshop that helps clients set ambitious and realisable emissions reduction targets, underpinned by Jacobs’ ‘Plan Beyond 2.0’ climate change mitigation strategy. Through its diverse suite of water sector carbon reduction and carbon capture pilot programmes, Jacobs is utilising its reach and resources to provide climate-smart, reproducible case studies to the global water industry.

Jacobs is harnessing its market-leading technological expertise to transform wastewater treatment plants into energy-positive facilities. The firm notably partnered with VCS Denmark to optimise energy usage and biogas generation at the Ejby Mølleastewater treatment plant, reducing CO2 emissions by an estimated 6,449 tonnes per year. In Singapore, meanwhile, Jacobs has designed the new Tuas Water Reclamation Plant to integrate with the city’s existing waste management facility – saving over 200,000 tonnes of annual CO2 emissions.

In partnership with a team of UK conservation and finance experts, Jacobs is pioneering a blue carbon project that will remove atmospheric carbon through coastal saltmarsh restoration, with the capacity to sequester up to 425,000 tonnes of carbon annually. By building out the established carbon trading market to include critical blue carbon offsets, Jacobs is demonstrating how nature-based water and ecosystem stewardship solutions can be both funded and rewarded.