Water is an essential resource for life and we need to look after it. At Viaqua, on World Environment Day, we are calling on society to ‘say no to plastic’, which is destroying natural ecosystems by the minute.

As an investment in sustainability, a guarantee for the future and a measure to stop the use of polluting plastic, at Viaqua we involve society in smart, sustainable, efficient, educational and socially responsible consumption of water, namely, through drinking tap water.

World Environment Day, which is held every year on 5 June, is the most important event with regard to the environment. Every year, World Environment Day is organised around a particular theme and serves to focus attention on a particularly pressing issue. The theme this year, Beat Plastic Pollution, calls on the world’s population to work towards a planet free of plastic pollution. Each year, 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped in the oceans, threatening sea and human life and destroying natural ecosystems. The aim is to raise awareness of the need to reduce the amount of plastic that reaches our oceans.

Viaqua is joining the event to demonstrate its commitment to the environment, one of the values that has defined the company since its beginning. That is why its priorities include achieving the minimum environmental impact, using water resources rationally and sustainably, and promoting a concern and commitment to the environment and respect for nature.

As part of World Environment Day, Viaqua is organising a number of activities throughout the week. In Santiago de Compostela, Viaqua and the Red Cross have organised a workshop to build a toy from plastic bottles at the Red Cross building, aimed at kids aged 6 to 12. The aim of this workshop is for children to make their own toys from waste materials to highlight the importance of reuse, while also encouraging children to drink tap water and thus reduce consumption of plastic bottles. On Thursday, 7 June, in conjunction with the El Correo Gallego newspaper, a water tasting and forum have been organised at Hotel AC Palacio del Carmen, which will be attended by guests from the worlds of sport, hospitality, communication, education, health and the environment.

In Ourense, in conjunction with the Ourense City Council Departments of Education and Environment, Viaqua is organising a workshop on ‘Art with reused plastic’ at the Reza wastewater treatment plant with Padre Feijoo schoolchildren who will make their own personalised plant pots from plastic bottles. There will also be a visit to the Reza wastewater treatment plant, where Viaqua staff will explain the different treatment process water undergoes in Ourense. In the evening, a bird-watching and nesting box workshop will be organised in the Council's nature classroom for 25 pupils from the Franciscan school.

Viaqua sees protecting the environment as the only way to guarantee a viable future for smart towns and cities, in which water and its management will undoubtedly be the keys to sustainability.