Earth/Sky/Mauka/Makai
State Sens. Glenn Wakai and Breene Harimoto are the two latest customers of Hawaiian Cool Water, an eco-friendly water purification system company based out of Manoa Innovation Center.
“As a young company, the senators’ business is a huge stamp of approval for us, and we are grateful to be given this opportunity at this high level in the state government,” Hawaiian Cool Water founder Michael Hernandez-Soria says.
The senators purchased Hawaiian Cool Water’s systems for their offices after taking a tour of the businesses that occupy Manoa Innovation Center, an incubator for budding tech companies, hosted by High Technology Development Corporation (HTDC). The tour, called the SPIN (Startup Paradise Innovation Network) Crawl, was a chance to give legislators a first-hand look at what local tech startups are doing.
“I was impressed with Hawaiian Cool Water’s technology and resulting filtered water,” Wakai says. “The water tasted so fresh. I am a big fan of growing Hawaii’s technology sector, so it made sense for me to nourish this industry through my dollars —and nourish my body through Cool Water.”
Plus, there was another benefit: “I had 5-gallon jugs being carried into my office for 12 years. I happily replaced those plastic bottles with a filtration system that needs very little maintenance,” Wakai explains.
We think it’s great when a senator not only voices his support for Hawaii’s innovation and tech sector, but also throws his personal financial support behind one of these businesses.
Alleviating that burden was part of the rationale behind Hawaiian Cool Water — but the primary reasons were to provide water in a way that is healthier for the individual, and for the environment. The systems purify water while leaving those plastic jugs — which contain chemicals and often end up in landfills — out of the equation.
“The growing amount of plastic containers that are winding up in the ocean is an ecological disaster,” Hernandez-Soria says. “By using a Hawaiian Cool Water system, businesses can eliminate their reliance on plastic bottles of water.
Hawaiian Cool Water founder Michael Hernandez-Soria (center) with Robert Sato and Linda Nunes of Sen. Breene Harimoto’s office PHOTO COURTESY IQ 360
“Bottled water is delivered on trucks that each burn tens of thousands of gallons of fuel per year and contribute to traffic problems that further increase vehicle emissions,” he adds.
Hawaiian Cool Water launched in 2011 — and has seen significant growth since then. Its clients include Young Brothers, Hawaii Pacific Health, American Savings Bank and Waikiki Aquarium —and it’s projected to net more than $1 million in revenue this year.
The company’s success, it seems, may speak to a larger trend of demand for green business.
“Globally, there is a great demand for sustainability through innovation, but as an island state, the potential and need for a green innovation business is even larger,” HTDC executive director Robbie Melton says. “There are also many resources for Hawaii businesses, including our own Hawaii Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies program that has organized public-private partnerships to develop advanced low-emission and zero-emission vehicles centered around electric drive technologies, and our friends at Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii, Ulupono Initiative, Blue Planet Foundation, Energy Excelerator and others.
The senators’ support, Melton asserts, is crucial in supporting businesses like these.
“We think it’s great when a senator not only voices his support for Hawaii’s innovation and tech sector, but also throws his personal financial support behind one of these local businesses,” Melton says. “It only shows how much they believe in the value these tech companies are bringing to help diversify our economy.”
For more on Hawaiian Cool Water, visit hawaiiancoolwater.com.
