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In the United States, bottled water outsells both milk and beer. And if projections about the bottled water industry prove correct, within four years it will surpass soft drinks, the only beverage category that stands in its way to the top. Considering that clean tap water in the West is widely available for next to nothing, the bottled water industry has tracked a remarkable journey over the last 30 years to the point where it is worth $US60 billion ($62 billion) a year, says author Elizabeth Royte, who has investigated its global ascent.

Don’t miss this. Blue Planet Run is a book with over 250 awe-inspiring photographs captured by some of the world’s top photojournalists. The idea is to help you know about water problems faced by people in different parts of the globe. Here are some pictures from the ‘Blue Planet Run’ book:

40 billion - The number of hours spent each year in Africa due to the need to collect water.

Team SOAK (Smart Operational Agricultural ToolKit) impressed the judges with its unique software designed to help farmers monitor their water usage. Team member David Burela, 24, said about six months was spent consulting with engineers and farmers and developing the software. It gives farmers a virtual image of their farms and the ability to work out how much moisture is in their fields and what their dam storage levels are.

FTSE said that it has teamed up with cleantech-focused investment firm Impax to launch a new index dedicated to tracking investments in alternative energy and energy efficiency, water treatment and pollution control, and waste technologies and resource management.

Meanwhile, NASDAQ OMX Group said last week that it was to introduce a series of Carbon indices designed to both underpin derivatives trading and provide a benchmark for the global carbon market. The company said that the new indices would make it easier for investors to enter the carbon market and gain an accurate picture of how their investments are performing.

And one company that we met in the halls of the conference that is helping companies manage power is San Francisco-based CSRware, which offers what it calls “eco-analytics,” or a suite of services that measures and manages a company’s energy consumption, water use and waste.

Tenders are being called for companies to design, supply and install energy and rainwater storage solutions and also to supply and install innovative, energy efficient lighting options for Government schools.

“Under the Australian Government’s National Solar Schools Program, schools are being offered grants of up to $20,000 for solar technology and up to $30,000 for solar hot water systems, rainwater tanks and other energy efficiency measures,” Mr Bartlett said.

The term cleantech therefore tends to be a more amorphous industry group than, say, environmental services, and a less rigid investment asset class than, say, financial services.Sectors that appear to fit into the definition of cleantech without dispute include:Renewable energy – wind, solar thermal and photovoltaics, wave, tidal, hydro, geothermal, biomass and biogas;Water technologies that increase efficiency;Energy efficiency, green buildings and biomaterials;Waste management and recycling;Energy storage and fuel cell technologies;Low emission vehicle technologies; andEnvironmental Services