Apple ties up with NGO for water management pilot outside Bengaluru

Apple is taking efforts to improve water management in India in partnership with environmental NGO Frank Water, beginning with a pilot in Anekal taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru, as part of its actions against climate change.

The iPhone maker is supporting the development of an "innovative, scalable approach that strengthens local water management and decision making, and expand equitable access to water quality data.

“Some of the most powerful solutions to climate change and the global water crisis come from the communities living every day with these challenges,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives.

The company in collaboration with the NGO is surveying households and analysing multiple data sources to map how water is used in the area using hydrological modelling. It is also developing a state-of-the-art decision support process, putting tools in the hands of the community.

The partnership brings together leading experts, local organisations, businesses, and community members in the pilot area.

"Together, Apple, Frank Water, and local partners aim to use the enhanced data and expanded partnerships to demonstrate how collective water stewardship, working alongside businesses, can be a model to replicate across India and beyond," the company said in a release.

Apple also works with Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF) to preserve mangroves along India's coast.

Since the partnership launched in 2021, local villagers signed conservation agreements that helped over 200 marginal fishing community members across Roha, Pen, and Alibaug blocks in the Raigad district of Maharashtra.

Furthermore, Apple works with the Barefoot College that trains rural women to become solar engineers in their communities.