Innovation

The main innovation is the way the company is redefining the very notion of pure drinking water. After seeking for the purest icebergs in Kongsfjorden, an arctic expedition vessel collects the ice chunks that are then melted and the resulting water bottled in its cleanest form. In order to retain the water’s natural composition and premium taste, no chemistry-altering filters are used, only micron filters and UV light to adhere to international standards. The final product is shipped worldwide on a carbon-negative basis.

The innovation also relates to their environmental friendly approach.The company was recognized as Carbon Neutral by Natural Capital Partners at the initial stage of their long-term environmental plan. Additionally, they only collect ice chunks that are close to melting into the ocean and are too tiny for polar bears or seals to use for resting or hunting. By doing this, they use a local resource that global warming is set to deplete in order to assist address the issue. They have transformed a sign of the issue into an element of the answer.

Svalbarði only uses icebergs that would otherwise melt into the ocean and cause sea levels to increase. Their projects helped Malawi and Uganda build better water infrastructure, and they helped a wind farm in western China offset all of their carbon emissions to get carbon neutrality certification. The glass bottle is totally recyclable and can be used again, and their wooden cap is made only from sustainable forests.

Inspiration

Jamal Qureshi is a Norwegian-American entrepreneur. In 2013 after working for more than a decade as a financial analyst around the world in the Oil & Gas Industry, he decided to travel to Norway to visit the Norwegian island territory of Svalbard – one of Europe’s last great wildernesses.

There he collected meltwater as a gift for his wife as “the pure water would make for a delicious cup of herbal tea” he said. Four years later, what was a simple gift transformed into a premium product, selling globally to private and hotelier customers.

During the expedition Mr. Qureshi noticed that there were plenty of icebergs floating in the sea that had broken off the glaciers that were inevitably destined to melt and contribute to the sea level-rising.
“The genesis of the company was coming up here the first time and see the devastating impacts of global warming. The main idea was, these icebergs are being lost into the sea forever, so we can gather them before they melt and help fight global warming.”
A little while after that first Svalbard trip he came across a story about scientists in Greenland and Antarctica who had leftover ice cores that they melted and served for water at their wedding. After some research he discovered the Premium waters market: “That's when I steadily had come to realize there was a business idea here to explore. My wife and I said if at any time it couldn't work we would stop. So we kept going and in 2016 we went full time.”

Mr. Qureshi chartered an arctic expedition vessel - the Ulla Rinman, to collect 10 tons of pure icebergs in Kongsfjorden, just 1000 km from the North Pole at 79° north. The ice was then melted in a specially constructed machine heated at 60°, treated with UV light only, to adhere to international standards and finally bottled, capturing the best drinking water in its cleanest form.

Overall impact

The company's swift action has saved 100kg of the Arctic ice cap for every bottle sold and uses its resources to educate the world about the plight of the Arctic and Svalbard.

The annual natural ice balance of Svalbard is being disturbed by global warming. About 5 billion cubic meters of icebergs, which naturally separate from the glaciers that cover 60% of Svalbard's 60% each year, are usually replenished by winter snow. Instead, climate change will lose more ice than it will replace. Polar bears and other wildlife are threatened by melting permafrost and less frozen oceans. As said before, Svalbarði uses only icebergs that melt in the ocean and cause sea level rise. They are certified carbon neutral by supporting improved water infrastructure in Uganda and Malawi and wind farms in western China, offsetting all of their carbon footprint. Their wooden stoppers are only sourced from sustainable forestry and their glass bottles are reusable and fully recyclable.
The company's long-term environmental plan is to completely remove greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere, transforming the entire Svalbard archipelago into a carbon negative region. It also sets an example that if the world's northernmost city in the corner of the North Pole can remove CO2 with local resources, anyone can.
So one of the main reasons Svalbarði exists is to generate income to fund projects that help reverse global warming. Major projects supported to date have involved the modernization of water infrastructure in Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda and Eritrea. By providing wells for easier access to clean water, the project eliminates the need for fossil fuels and limited wood to boil water in local communities. This prevents both CO2 emissions and deforestation.
Certified as carbon neutral by Natural Capital Partners in Phase 1 of their long-term environmental plan, Svalbard is also melting in the sea and collects only pieces of ice that are too small for polar bears and seals to use for hunting and resting. By doing so, they take local resources that are being destroyed by global warming and use them to help solve the problem instead. They have turned a symptom of the problem into part of the solution.
They use social media and marketing platforms as tools to educate the public about the importance of global warming research and the mitigation work being done in Svalbar. Due to its archipelago location, the Svalbarði offers a first-hand view of the rapidly changing environment including: B. Retreating glaciers, shrinking sea ice, and challenges facing Arctic wildlife such as polar bears, reindeer, and arctic foxes. They see it as their duty to help others understand the global impact of what is happening in Svalbard.
They work with Natural Capital Partners to not only achieve certified carbon neutral status, but also support carbon reduction projects that make them carbon negative companies (removing carbon from the atmosphere). Scientists have determined that 3 square meters of the Arctic ice cap are destroyed for every tonne of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere, so the revenue for each bottle of Svalbarði sold to preserve 100 kg of ice cap uses some of the In other words, catching the tiny iceberg fragments that enter each bottle of the Svalbarði just before they melt into the ocean forever will help save more than 100 times the amount of ice in the Arctic.

Business benefit

The innovations that have incredible benefits on the business are of course the taste of this mineral water and the packaging design ,innovations for which they have won gold, bronze, platinum and world best award. Light flavour, beautiful presentation, unique source, high purity, global availability, environmentally positive, ultra-premium price, manage ice, packaging, shipping, having a good business model are aspects that favor the growth of their business. Svalbarði Polar Iceberg Water is the best bottled water for fine dining, unique gifting, and special occasions; Mr.Jamal said that “water is a product with positive vision what this place is, not just a premium product and that every company exists also for making money but business is a powerful tool to be able to generate positive effect to society and environment”.

Social and environmental benefit

It is important to understand and measure water quality as it directly impacts human consumption and health, industrial and domestic use, and the natural environment. Regulations such as the EU Drinking Water Directive and regulatory agencies such as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set standards for enforcement of water quality, with local governments around the world usually acting as the front-line enforcers.

The tested water quality parameters must meet standards set by their local governments which are often influenced by international standards set by industry or water quality organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO).

Environmental water quality is highly important for the well-being of flora and fauna in oceans, rivers, lakes, swamps, and wetlands. It impacts people and higher-order species which depend on these ecosystems for food and transfer of nutrients. As such, governmental organizations have regulated different subcategories of environmental water quality.
The US EPA regulates environmental water quality parameters for the protection and propagation of fish and shellfish populations, waterfowl, shorebirds, and other water-oriented wildlife. Environmental water quality parameters are regulated for the protection and preservation of coral reefs, marinas, groundwater, and aquifers.
Poor environmental water quality related to contamination by chemicals or microorganisms from farms, towns, and factories is an ever-growing issue. According to United Nation statistics, more than 80 percent of the world’s wastewater flows back into the environment without being treated. This degree of contamination poses risks to humans and aquatic wildlife alike.

Interview

Jamal Qureshi, founder