About
Aqualuz is a sustainable device that treats water through sunlight exposure, providing access to drinking water to populations in remote areas of Brazil, such as the northeastern backlands, with limited access to public sanitation services.
Innovation presentation
To fulfill its purpose of being one of the most responsible and impactful companies in the world, Zurich is always on the lookout for projects and proposals that may help the company make a contribution to a better future. In 2022, Zurich and its commercial client BRK Ambiental, a Brazilian sanitation company, joined forces to bring access to clean drinking water to populations in semi-arid regions of Brazil, often without access to public sanitation services.
To make that possible, Zurich and BRK identified a sustainable device, called Aqualuz, whose development had begun in 2013 by Sustainable Development and Water (SDW), a UN-acknowledged and awarded Brazilian startup with social and environmental impact. The device allows for freshwater treatment through sunlight exposure, ensuring families access to clean water without the need for chemical additives before consumption.
Comprising a stainless steel box with a glass lid that allows exposure to solar radiation, the equipment has a thermosensitive sensor that changes color to indicate when the water disinfection process is completed. As such, the user fills the equipment with water and keeps it in the sun for at least four hours, time enough to complete the treatment. After the sensor changes color, the water can be removed and cooled for consumption.
According to Instituto Trata Brasil, basic sanitation in Brazil has historically lagged behind, with over 35 million people lacking access to clean drinking water and approximately 100 million Brazilians with no access to sewage collection. In the Northeast, only 74% of the population has access to drinking water.
An example of a waterborne disease that can spread in this context is schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease directly related to poor sanitation. It is estimated that in Brazil, about 1.5 million people live in areas at risk of catching the disease.
Data from Brazil’s basic sanitation panel indicate that in 2021, in the state of Alagoas alone, hospitalization expenses due to waterborne diseases exceeded R$ 800 thousand.
To get an idea of the benefit achieved with Aqualuz, considering the more than 4,800 people the project benefited, the savings in treating these diseases over 20 years are estimated at around R$ 1.8 million.
In the region chosen to be served, residents of 582 households do not treat water before consumption; 605 households do not treat water used in food preparation, and 157 households reported having residents with diarrhea at least once a month.
The loan of the equipment to families can extend up to 20 years, including training for both families and the community regarding usage and education focused on basic sanitation, as well as monitoring of the families and the project impact.
In addition to providing better-quality water to the population and combating the incidence of parasitic diseases, the project also affords families average savings of R$ 600 per year, as they no longer need to spend on boiling water, medical treatments, and medications to counter waterborne diseases.
The project underpins Zurich’s purpose of contributing to society, along with its commercial partners, in initiatives that bring positive social impact to the country, with an extremely relevant project for the health and safety of these families, which will have a profound impact on their lives in both the short and long term.
Uniqueness of the project
In addition to utilizing innovative technology to facilitate access to better-quality water for consumption by several families, through a partnership with a startup, the project’s main differential is the collaboration between an insurance company and a business partner to promote a social project. This shows it is possible to increase positive impact when there is alignment between business and sustainability agendas.
