Champion in Cholera Prevention Receives 2010 Stockholm Water Prize

24.03.2010

Borealis and Borouge welcome the announcement of Dr Rita Colwell as 2010 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate.

Co-Founders of the Stockholm Water Prize, Borealis and Borouge are pleased to share the announcement of Dr Rita Colwell as 2010 Laureate in recognition of her pioneering research on the prevention of waterborne infectious diseases. The Stockholm Water Prize is the world’s most prestigious award for outstanding achievements in water-related activities.

Dr Colwell (76), Professor at the University of Maryland and John Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health in the United States, has helped protect the health and lives of millions through her exceptional contributions towards controlling the spread of cholera. Cholera infects 3 to 5 million people each year.

Dr Colwell is widely recognised as one of the most influential voices in science and technology associated with water and health. Through decades of scientific leadership she has defined the ecology of infectious diseases and developed advanced technologies to halt their spread. Her work has established the basis for environmental and infectious disease risk assessment used around the world. As a result of her work, scientists are now able to link changes in the natural environment to the spread of disease and models applying remote satellite imaging are able to track and predict outbreaks of cholera before they occur.

As co-Founders of the Stockholm Water Prize and initiators of the Water for the World™ programme, Borealis and Borouge are actively committed to promoting and supporting best practice in the management of water resources and in improving access to water and sanitation around the globe.

“Water related diseases kill more than 5000 people every day; more than AIDS and malaria combined,” comments Lorenzo Delorenzi, Borealis Executive Vice-President Polyolefins. “The Stockholm Water Prize demonstrates that research and innovation can truly make a difference to people’s lives, and this is what Borealis and Borouge set out to achieve in co-founding this award.”
Established in 2007, Water for the World has led a large number of projects, including creating a water supply for earthquake refugee resettlements in Italy and China, pioneering water footprint on plastics materials, providing 24/7 water access to 150 000 people in India, and water awareness-raising campaigns at community and schools levels.

Announced each March in connection with the UN World Water Day, the Stockholm Water Prize Laureate 2010 will be honoured at a Royal Prize Ceremony under the patronage of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on September 9, 2010, during World Water Week. The prize, administered by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and founded by international companies in cooperation with the City of Stockholm, includes a USD 150 000 award.

Borealis: Kerstin Meckler
Head of Communications
+43 122 400 389
kerstin.meckler@borealisgroup.com

SIWI: Britt-Louise Andersson
Communications Director
+ 46 8 522 139 72
britt-louise.andersson@siwi.org

Borealis is a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions that create value for society. With sales of EUR 4.7 billion in 2009, customers in over 120 countries, and 5,200 employees worldwide, Borealis is owned 64% by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi and 36% by OMV, the leading energy group in the European growth belt. Borealis is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and has production locations,
innovation centers and customer service centers across Europe and the Americas. Through Borouge, a joint venture between Borealis and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s major oil companies, the company’s footprint reaches out to the Middle East, Asia Pacific, the Indian sub-continent and Africa.

Established in 1998, Borouge employs approximately 1,400 people, has customers in more than 50 countries and its headquarters are in Abu Dhabi in the UAE and Singapore.
Building on the unique Borstar® technology and their experience in polyolefins for more than 50 years, Borealis and Borouge provide innovative, value creating plastics solutions for the infrastructure (pipe systems and power and communication cables), automotive and advanced packaging markets. In addition, Borealis offers a wide range of base chemicals from melamine and plant nutrients to phenol and acetone.

Today Borealis and Borouge manufacture 4.4 million tonnes of polyolefins (polyethylene and polypropylene) per year. Borouge is currently tripling its polyolefins manufacturing capacity to 2 million tonnes per year (t/y) by mid-2010 and an additional 2.5 million t/y is scheduled for 2013. The companies continue to invest to ensure that their customers throughout the value chain, across the globe, can always rely on product quality, consistency and security of supply.
Borouge and Borealis are committed to the principles of Responsible Care® and proactively contribute to addressing the world’s water and sanitation challenges through their Water for the World™ initiative.

SIWI - Independent, Leading-Edge Water Competence for Future-Oriented Action
The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is a policy institute that contributes to international efforts to combat the world's escalating water. www.siwi.org

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