The RBC Leading The Way in Water Management With The Blue Water Project.

Even though over 70% of the Earth’s surface is made up of water somehow we seem to be lacking in this resource. Here we are in May, not even summer yet and already large proportions of the UK is suffering from drought conditions. Despite the unusual low pressure for this time of year and localised flooding, some counties are still under siege with a hosepipe ban, and the wastage of water is at the forefront of topical conversation. However, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is pioneering the way forward to combat this environmental issue and with their Blue Water Project, are trying to make a difference in the method of water sustainability.
The main purpose of the RBC Blue Water Project is to support charities and non-for-profit organisations who are changing the way they manage water and creating access to cleaner, fresher water to more people. The project was launched in 2007 and RBC aims to provide $50 million over a period of 10 years, awarding grants to worthwhile projects each year, advocating watership protection, efficiency management and public awareness.
Amongst many other environmental projects that RBC run, Blue Water is an important one for them, recognising that water is a global concern that affects individuals, businesses and communities worldwide, and an issue that can create financial implications. When the project was first setup, few companies were directly involved in making a change but RBC feels it can genuinely make a difference by providing the financial support necessary to implement projects and keep them afloat.
The project awarded its first grant back in 2008 and now in its fifth year its success can already be marked. The Blue Water project has given support to 450 projects and is getting more and more support than ever before. Even employees at RBC are volunteering to help promote the initiative, getting behind the scheme which is creating a massive impact on public awareness. Projects can apply to either a leadership grant, which can be anything from $25,000 – $500,000 and awarded annually designed for organisations leading programs in North America and other countries where RBC operates. Or the community action grant, which is anything from $1,000 – $5,000 which is usually on-going funding to projects based in Canada, USA and the Caribbean.
The RBC have also entered the 2012 Chelsea Flower Show and have teamed up with Nigel Dunnett and The Landscape Agency for a second time to design the RBC Blue Water Garden, which explores the concept of ‘artful water management’. RBC sees the Chelsea Flower Show as a great platform to showcase their ideologies and values of the Blue Water Project and, following the success of last year’s garden, can create an opportunity to gain visibility, brand and public awareness.
 
RBC’s long lasting goal for the Blue Water Project is primarily to provide cleaner water for more people, create public awareness and to keep water sustainability at the forefront of people’s mind. The Chelsea Flower Show provides an audience that will welcome such an efficient approach to a current concern, and considering the UK’s current climate conditions there will be no better time to promote this message. The GardenAdvice.co.uk team hopes the Project will make a lasting impression, simply because it is  worthwhile, with a very honest objective to encourage people to look after this natural resource that affects us all, whether that be at home or beyond your shores.