Celebrating World Water Day 2026
"Where water flows, equality grows." This subtitle underscores the theme of World Water Day 2026: Water and Gender.
"Today reminds us that inequalities in access to safe water affect people in different ways, and that water equity extends beyond any single dimension", say Business Unit Managers Jessica Weigert and Annemieke van der Velden.
"For us, leading Kiwa’s Water Business in Germany and the Netherlands, diversity is not an abstract value but a lived reality: our teams bring together people from different cultures, backgrounds and personal experiences, including colleagues who know from their own lives what it means not to have reliable access to water."
Diversity strengthens our expertise, deepens trust and helps us contribute to a safer and more resilient world where access to water, and participation in safeguarding it, is fair and inclusive for all.
A culture built on equality
World Water Day 2026 carries a clear message: inequalities in access to safe and reliable water affect people differently. Gender is an important part of this reality, but water equity also goes beyond this. It is about ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, identity or circumstance, can rely on safe water in everyday life.
At Kiwa, we approach this not as a side topic, but as a core responsibility that shapes how we build teams, design services and contribute to European standards.
As a globally active testing, inspection and certification (TIC) organisation, we believe in equal opportunity and equal recognition for performance. Within the water sector, we actively work to ensure that diverse perspectives are represented at every level — in laboratories, inspection, certification and leadership — and that these perspectives are included in the conversations that shape policy. By bringing together diverse experiences and cultures across our teams, we strengthen our expertise, enhance credibility and better serve the communities that depend on safe water.
In line with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Kiwa has set concrete targets to improve representation and remove barriers. Targets related to women in the workforce and in senior management remain important milestones within a broader Diversity & Inclusion agenda. The principle behind them is universal: equal pay for equal work and equal access to opportunity. Beyond our own organisation, Kiwa supports customers with certification and advisory services that help eliminate discrimination and foster inclusive workplaces (for example, the UNI/PdR 125:2022 for gender equality in the workplace).
Rising standards, rising expectations
For almost 80 years, Kiwa has been occupied with questions about water safety and quality. This began at our inception as a company testing products in contact with drinking water in the Netherlands after the Second World War. Even our name originates there: Keuringsinstituut voor Waterleiding Artikelen (KIWA), which translates to ‘Certification Institute for Water Supply Articles’. To this day, water is part of our DNA as a leading player in Europe. As we move forward, "the demands are only going up", says Annemieke.
The implementation of the Drinking Water Directive (DWD) across Europe is just one example of the rising standards. Article 11 sets harmonised requirements for materials and products that come into contact with drinking water. "The minimum requirements are set at a very high level, which represents a major change for companies delivering products to the European market", says Jessica. "This means extensive testing and certification from notified bodies, including positive lists of approved materials and substances."
Kiwa is playing an active role in supporting water players across EU member states as they incorporate the DWD in their policies and practices.
Our role ranges from discussions with the European Commission and member states to being among the first organisations to become accredited under the new directive.
It also includes establishing the Group of (future) Notified Bodies for Drinking Water (NB-DW), in which Marco van Brink, our Global Business Manager Water, serves as Chair, bringing together key stakeholders and players from across the EU.
Water in a changing world
The challenges facing the world’s water systems are growing in complexity. The list of emerging contaminants, for instance, is only expanding. From microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — so-called ‘forever chemicals’ — to pharmaceuticals re-entering water supplies. "Over the decades", says Jessica, "we are learning all the time, and new things will appear that we are not even thinking about today."
Climate change adds another layer of urgency. Prolonged droughts in southern Europe, extreme rainfall events, and rising pressure on ageing infrastructure all point to a future in which the resilience of water systems will be tested as never before. The EU’s forthcoming Water Resilience Act reflects precisely this dual challenge: securing both water safety and water availability across the continent.
These pressures are not felt equally. The global water crisis affects everyone, but its consequences vary by context and community. According to UN reports, over one billion women lack access to safely managed drinking water, illustrating how inequalities can compound when access is missing. Centring those most affected — while drawing on diverse expertise to design solutions — is essential to durable progress.
We create Trust
With so much in flux, trust remains the absolute foundation of what we do.
"At the end of the day, our work is all about trust and knowledge", says Annemieke. "We have very skilled people, we are part of many standardisation organisations, and we are at the forefront of these conversations. This is where being independent is so important."
"We are able to look very closely into our customers’ operations, and they know we will handle this with care. Without that, none of the rest matters".
Kiwa’s independence is also why, in Jessica’s view, the shift from reactive testing to preventive, risk-based approaches is so significant. Rather than checking quality only at the end of the supply chain, the recast DWD requires oversight from source to tap, a philosophy that mirrors Kiwa’s own approach to quality assurance across the water value chain.
Where water flows…
On World Water Day 2026, the message is clear: securing safe, reliable water systems is inseparable from building a fair and resilient society. Whether ensuring product safety, advising on European legislation or shaping harmonised standards, Kiwa’s mission remains unchanged since 1948: clean and safe water for everyone. As the UN puts it: water is a human right.
At Kiwa, we see this right as a practical responsibility, one that calls for equal access to safe water in everyday life.
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