Water purification. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – At a time when many countries are facing drought and critical water shortages, Israel now recycles nearly 90 percent of its waste water, around four times more than any other country, according to Israel’s minister of strategic affairs and public diplomacy.

Gilad Erdan made the claim in an address at the first-ever Israeli Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) conference in Tel Aviv, hosted by Maala, the Jewish state’s CSR standards organization.

“It is a remarkable achievement and this benefits not only Israel,” Erdan added. “Israeli companies are helping save water around the world, from Africa to California to India.”

The conference, which was held last week, brought together leaders from Israel’s business community as well as international experts in sustainability and members of the CSR community to address Israel’s social and environmental innovation. Speakers from companies such as Teva, Intel, 3M and the Strauss Group headlined the conference.

“Israel is innovative, creative and dynamic and has more high-tech startups per capita than anywhere else in the world,” Erdan said. “And these startups, in large part, are not only focused on creating high profits, but also finding ways to solve the world’s most pressing problems.”

Israeli companies leading the way in sustainability innovation featured at the conference included Hadera Paper, the world’s most environment-friendly paper company, Netafim, drip and micro-irrigation pioneers, and Mekorot, the country’s top agency for water management.