The Water Quality Association (WQA) is marking Earth Day with a reminder of the first-of-its kind sustainability certification for water treatment products. WQA’s Sustainability Certification Mark is a symbol that represents achievement in the field of sustainability.
“Earth Day is an important day each year when we are focused on doing the right thing for the environment,” said WQA Executive Director Pauli Undesser. “We are committed to helping consumers know if the products they buy not only will improve the betterment of water quality but do so in an environmentally responsible way.”
A product is defined as “sustainable” if it meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. These needs are further delineated as encompassing responsibility for the three P’s of sustainability:
People: the safety and welfare of production workers and consumers;
Planet: the continuing health of our ecosystems; and
Prosperity: the economic realities that the product must fulfill a need, perform as advertised, and be offered for a competitive price.
The sustainability certification also helps to differentiate environmentally responsible products from those that have not demonstrated their achievements or those that might make unfounded, misleading, or unsubstantiated environmental claims.
WQA released the results of a new national public opinion survey in March which found that awareness of water quality issues and contaminants that might affect water quality has risen over the past two years, while the number of Americans who identify lead as a possible contaminant rose significantly.
In addition, more than half (52%) of those surveyed perceive the federal laws governing drinking water quality are not strict enough. A sizeable majority of consumers (75%) believe that the primary responsibility for ensuring safe drinking water lies outside their home, with the municipality. An overview of the survey is available at WQA’s website: WQA.org.
Consumers can learn more about water quality in general through WQA’s free publication Water Treatment for Dummies: WQA Special Edition. The booklet offers a basic understanding of how to identify and solve water problems in a cost-effective manner. It can be downloaded at WQA.org/dummies.
WQA is a not-for-profit trade association representing the residential, commercial, and industrial water treatment industry. Since 1959, the WQA Gold Seal certification program has been certifying products that contribute to the safe consumption of water. The WQA Gold Seal program is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC).
wqa.org