Here at Jacobi we frequently speak about the importance and significance of water. Not only do we need it to cook, to wash and to grow food, we’re made of it too. The human body is estimated to be up to 78% water. Put simply, water is absolutely vital for every single known form of life.

It’s for these reasons that we’ve always celebrated World Water Day in the Philippines. In March every year we work with the community on activities that help to preserve and protect water. It’s an opportunity for us to help create public awareness and increase education surrounding this incredibly precious resource. We hope that this advocacy will encourage not only the community, but also governments and those in the private sector to take their responsibilities regarding water seriously.

What does this involve? Every year, the Jacobi Carbons Philippines, or JCX, team are involved in coastal clean-ups and tree-planting activities. During the clean ups, Jacobi employees head out donning gloves and carrying their black bin bags to pick up any litter they can find. The litter has been discarded along the coastline amongst pale sands, fishing boats and huts on stilts, or around Tag-anga Creek, a beautiful nature spot filled with lush greenery. After the clean up, we can look out onto these areas with pride, knowing we’ve helped to restore their natural states.

It’s the same for the tree-planting exercise too – Jacobi employees are completely hands on, getting their hands dirty and planting all the trees themselves. Trees (in particular coconut) are planted in the more arid parts of Tag-anga Creek, expanding on the greenery and enhancing the area. The final part of our activities is a seminar given to the local Barangay authorities with a focus on how to reduce water pollution and increase water preservation.

Hon. Jennie Rosalie Uy, Municipal Mayor, who was part of our 2019 World Water Day activities, said: “The Municipality of Villanueva is grateful to Jacobi Carbons Philippines for its constant support and participation in upholding our communities and providing livelihood to our residents.”

We plan to continue these types of activities in the coming years too. Now we have started this activity, we hope to expand our efforts in future years, coming back with bigger teams of people and covering increasingly large areas. Each year we are able to return to see the fruits of our labour as the trees grow tall and proud. We hope that removing litter will encourage local people to leave less of it and that every year we will see smaller and smaller amounts of discarded rubbish.

As a company, protecting water sources is a large part of what Jacobi does. On top of our specific World Water Day activities, we produce several products with a sole aim to purify, filter or detoxify water, making it safe for us to consume.

For example, AquaSorb, an activated carbon product designed specifically for water treatment and covering all kinds of different treatments. AquaSorb can be used by the general public in their homes in point of use filters such as in filter jugs and bottles. It’s also used to filter both aquariums and swimming pools. Elsewhere, it’s used in industrial processes when treating effluent wastewater, industrial process water and manufacturing beverages.

Other Jacobi products that can be used to treat water include ReSorb, designed for water and vapour treatment. PetroSorb is designed for the oil and gas industry but also covers water and vapour treatment and process applications in petrochemical facilities. Additional to our activated carbon products, Jacobi also produces a range of ion exchange resins, known as Resinex, which are used for water softening, chelation and removal of heavy metals.

Preserving water, preventing water pollution and spreading awareness about the importance of these things are all part of our aim to be the most sustainable supplier of activated carbon in our industry. It’s a journey that we are passionate about and we are always making new progress around the world for the benefit of our planet and our people. Learn more about our sustainability practices here and find out more about our products that treat water here.