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CommitmentClimate ProtectionPress Release

Water for a quarter of a million people

22 March 2019Download

With 22 countries and 22 participating suppliers, the METRO Water Initiative has grown significantly in its 3rd year. The goal: By 2021, more than 250,000 people in Sheohar in Northern India should have permanent access to water and sanitation facilities.

METRO Water Initiative collaborates with One Drop

METRO collaborates with One Drop © Terry Hughes Images

  • More than 250,000 people in the north Indian region of Sheohar will have permanent access to safe water and sanitation facilities, thanks to the 3-year joint project of METRO and One Drop
  • At least 1.2 million Euros are to be collected for this purpose through the METRO Water Initiative
  • 22 METRO countries and 22 suppliers support the METRO Water Initiative in the campaign time around the UN World Water Day on 22 March 2019 – more than ever before

Together, METRO, its customers in 22 countries and 22 suppliers will, with this years’ METRO Water Initiative, create the financial basis for the 3-year joint project with the Canadian-based water Foundation One Drop. The project will kick off in June 2019 in the northern Indian region of Sheohar. It aims at providing permanent access to safe water and sanitation to over a quarter of a million people. The population of Sheohar, a rural region in India, is among those most deeply affected by the lack of water and sanitation facilities. The consequences are devastating. In the One Drop concept, however, access to water is only the beginning: through social art programs that take into consideration local cultural and artistic references, water-related behaviour change is promoted to lead to healthier practices around water, sanitation and hygiene. Furthermore, communities and individuals are empowered and trained to manage the water and sanitation facilities in a sustainable way.

Already in June 2018, the international wholesaler METRO announced its cooperation with the international Foundation One Drop. Now the project is concrete: In June 2019, work will start on site in Sheohar, a district in the federal Indian state of Bihar.

"This project is a common thread that allows a variety of companies and institutions to join forces to do good. Water is a human right, but it is so unequally distributed around the world that more than 2 billion people still live without safe access to clean water. By partnering for a common goal, we have the power to change the lives of more than a quarter of a million people for the better," said Heiko Hutmacher, Chief Human Resources Officer, Member of the Management Board of METRO AG responsible for Sustainability.