Neil Grimmer is Brand President of SOURCE Global, innovator of the SOURCE Hydropanel, a renewable technology that uses the sun to transform water vapor in the air to clean, safe and perfectly mineralized drinking water. The Public Benefit Company’s mission is to bring perfect drinking water to every person, every place, and Neil leads its marketing, consumer packaged goods and last-mile water solutions for community, consumer and commercial customers in more than 50 countries. > How it Works

NEIL GRIMMER

Water insecurity and water scarcity is affecting all people in almost every part of the world. At this point, by 2025, we expect 1.8 billion people to suffer from water scarcity, which means they have no access to clean, safe drinking water within a 30-minute walk of their home.

And then two thirds of the global population are experiencing water stress, which is to say that they can no longer predictably rely on that water source to either be available and/or safe to consume. That is where we stand virtually today. You fast forward to 2050, we expect 6 billion people will have water scarcity.

So the rate at which this problem is increasing is far greater than the current infrastructure that has supported water for humans. And that's where innovation and rapid deployment of technology at scale is really essential. And that's what we're in the business to do.

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So at SOURCE, we have one core technology, which is called a SOURCE Hydropanel. If you look at it, it looks like a solar panel, but what it really does is it pulls the water vapor out of the air, and then condenses it into liquid water, which we then mineralize for health and taste, and then bring to the end customer - whether that's a village in a remote part of the world or an office building or a hospital that needs water - we plumb it directly in so that people can have access to clean, safe drinking water, and it's done completely off the grid.

I think art is essential to all cultures. We know that, if you go back to the earliest parts in history, artists played a role in culture, and some are directly obvious in how they shape and impact people's lives and others are more peripheral, but I think artists are essential to any society. And even increasingly, when you think about the reflection that an artist can bring at a societal level, even through an idea, a picture, an icon, something that makes people think about the world differently. That in and of itself, I think, is transformative.

When you start thinking about the skill set of an artist and the multidisciplinary aspect of how many artists really have to not only create but also survive in the world, then you start to see the power of what artists can do, whether it is coming up with new ideas that can change people's lives or being part of a movement to shape ideas and perspectives that help evolve society. Artists have always been critically important in that. And I'm excited because I think the world we live in today needs creativity. It needs innovation, and it needs it at a rapid pace. And I think artists and entrepreneurs are uniquely positioned to step into that. 

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk and Mira Patla with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Mira Patla. Digital Media Coordinators are Jacob A. Preisler and Megan Hegenbarth. 

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process & One Planet Podcast (Conversations about Climate Change & Environmental Solutions).