AVK sustainability report 2023 with links A4 - Flipbook - Page 31
On World Water Day, March 22, 2023, a
global water conference was held at the UN
headquarters in New York. Approximately 6,500
delegates attended over the three days, and
around 200 side events were held.
In September 2020 Narendra Modi, the Prime
Minister of India, and Mette Frederiksen,
the Prime Minister of Denmark, signed an
agreement through which Denmark and India
entered a strategic partnership.
”Denmark has the skills; India has the
scale.”
DWF teamed up with the World Bank in a side
event entitled: “The Hidden Wealth of Nations:
Groundwater in Times of Climate Change.”
It was a well-attended event on the first day,
where around 120 attendees learned about
the importance of percieving groundwater
as a valuable resource, and how Denmark is
dependent on its groundwater and a frontrunner
in optimal groundwater utilisation. AVK
participated as part of the DWF delegation.
On May 3, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
visited Denmark and met with representatives
of leading Danish companies within the green
transition, including Chairman of the board and
owner of AVK, Niels Aage Kjær. At the meeting,
Niels Aage Kjær exchanged a letter of intent
with Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The purpose of
the agreement is to strengthen the partnership
for projects and opportunities within water and
wastewater projects and thus create a reliable
water supply for the people of India.
Source: Confederation of Danish Industry
During the last 50 years there has not been a
dedicated water conference, let alone one of
this size. That is why we at AVK are working to
get water on the UN agenda.
Green strategic partnership between India
and Denmark
DWF is playing an active role in a green
strategic co-operation agreement between
India and Denmark, along with DI Vand and
the Danish Embassy in India, as they have
formed strategic partnerships between the
two countries’ stakeholders within the water
industries. DWF contributes by organising
workshops and conferences in India where
Danish water technology is in focus.
India has approximately 1.4 billion
inhabitants and has in 2023 overtaken
China as the most populated country in the
world. Around 627 million people in India
have no access to clean water.
Since then, the Danish embassy, Dansk
Industri, and Danish Water Forum have
arranged delegation meetings for both India
and Denmark, where AVK has participated
with, among other things, a presentation of the
LEAKman project. Likewise, the letter of intent
has resulted in a Non-Revenue Water (NRW)
project in the Indian city of Pune, where AVK
Valves India Pvt. Ltd. has joined forces with
L&T and several other stakeholders to reduce
NRW from 30% to 15% using District Metering
Areas.
Since 2016, Aarhus Municipality and nearby
companies, including AVK, have collaborated
with the Indian city Udaipur to ensure clean
drinking water, wastewater management and
a holistic planning and management of water
in urban development. The hope is that the
experience gained from this collaboration will
spread to the entire region of Rajasthan, where
Udaipur is located.
Quote by the Indian Prime Minister,
Narendra Modi.
Urbanisation in India has accelerated, which
puts a strain on the cities and not least on the
country’s resources, including the water supply.
Water Technology Alliance
The Water Technology Alliance (WTA) offers
knowledge sharing between the North
American and Danish water industry to promote
the exchange of views and experiences
within the water and wastewater field. It is a
collaboration between American utilities and
authorities and Danish utilities and companies
on the market, including AVK. The collaboration
originates in an agreement between the
Californian state government and the Danish
government, which was signed in 2016.
Both AVK Holding A/S and American AVK
actively participate in this collaboration, as we
receive delegations in Denmark on so-called
fact-finding trips, where we contribute
with knowledge about our role in relation
to the Danish water supply or wastewater
management. These inputs are then translated
into American terms, with American AVK
playing the major role. This collaboration
has lifted the AVK brand significantly on the
American market.
Source: Confederation of Danish Industry.
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