In this WaterWorld magazine interview recorded at the 2018 BlueTech Forum in Vancouver, host Angela Godwin talks with Paul O'Callaghan, CEO of BlueTech, about the relevance of a circular‑economy approach to water risk management. Paul explains that applying circular principles—especially those that make economic sense—offers a powerful way to address water scarcity and quality challenges. He outlines three flagship keynote presentations: Novozymes on advanced biotechnology for water efficiency, L'Oréal’s “dry factory” concept deployed in Spain and Italy, and NASA’s closed‑loop water management on the International Space Station. Paul also describes the diverse attendee mix, ranging from investors and large water‑technology firms to startups, corporate water groups (PepsiCo, L'Oréal, Procter & Gamble) and utilities across North America and Europe. Finally, he introduces “Brave Blue World,” a documentary partnership with the Water Environment Federation aimed at shifting public perception from doom‑laden narratives to an optimistic story of water solutions. The interview underscores the collaborative, innovative, and communicative dimensions of advancing water sustainability within a circular‑economy framework.
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Hi, I'm Angela Godwin with Waterworld magazine, coming to you from the opening reception here at the BlueTech Forum in Vancouver, Canada. Joining me this evening is my guest, Paul o'. Callaghan. He is CEO of Blue Tech. Paul, thank you so much for joining us.
Thanks, Angela. Pleasure to be here.
Now, I know the theme this year is managing water in the circular economy. Tell us why that is such an important and relevant topic.
Well, I guess we all understand that we fundamentally are managing water risk, whether that's the risk of water scarcity or dealing with water quality issues and looking at solutions. And a circular approach, and particularly one that makes economic sense, which is the economy part of Circular economy represents a great opportunity to address those risks Right now.
There's quite a few really interesting keynotes on the agenda this year. Can you talk about a few of those and what we can expect to see?
Sure. Well, they run in kind of an arc and they tie together some of the key themes of the forum. So we have Novozymes presenting how advanced biotechnology can lead to dramatic changes and shifts in efficiency in water and be an enabler for circular economy. Hans Bukols from l' Oreal will describe a dry factory concept that they've implemented in Spain and Italy and they're rolling out across the organization. And then that finishes with Michael Finn from NASA who talks about in the context of the space station, how it truly is a very closed loop environment and how they manage water and other resources there.
Excellent, that's fascinating. Now, as far as the folks that are attending the event this year, it's really quite a diverse group of people. Can you tell us about the types of people and industries that are represented?
Yes, it truly is quite broad and we have a number of different groups represented. There's a strong investor contingent this year. Large water technology companies are coming to find new innovations and discuss key trends in the industry. We have startups and young entrepreneurs who are starting their journey and increasingly many end users actually, which is fantastic to see corporate water groups such as Pepsi Cola, l', Oreal, Procter and Gamble, as well as many utilities from the uk, from Europe, from North America.
Excellent. Now, one last thing before I let you go. I know that you are involved in kind of a really neat and different project, this brave blue world. Tell us what that's all about.
Well, it came about because when you're in this water sector, you know there are challenges, but you also see the solutions and, and much of what the public hears and sees is very apocalyptic doom and gloom tales. We'll run out of water more. As we thought about water, and we felt we can tell a more positive and optimistic story that doesn't belittle those challenges, but shows that there are solutions. And we titled it Brave Blue World as a documentary because it's a Huxleyan nod to the future water system. And we're delighted to be partnering with the Water Environment Federation on that production. It'll be a storytelling initiative that hopefully can reach the public and change the way they think about water.
Excellent. Well, we can't wait to have a look at that when it's ready. That sounds fantastic. Paul, thank you so much for your time this evening. We really appreciate it, and we wish you all the best of luck going forward.
