11.4.7 Research and development in sustainable water use

Interestingly, the quick scan also highlighted the current development in the field of research and development related to the sustainable use of water. An interesting trend is to develop greener products or greener ways of production. In particular, Philips has taken the lead. Its employees are designing eco-friendly products designed to outperform their competitors in terms of their ecological footprint (Philips, 2008). To do that, Philips is committed to doubling its investments to EUR 1 billion in 'Green Innovations' in the next five years.

In terms of water management, Shell has indicated that at Pearl GTL (Qatar) -the world's largest Gas to Liquids plant - careful management of water was part of the design from the start. As a result, the plant will be taking zero freshwater from this arid region, and ensuring that there is no discharge of contaminated water (Shell, 2007). Technology will help, according to Shell, to mitigate environmental impact.