This year, the annual meeting of the EBC-programme participants was held from November 27 to 29 in Turin, former capital of Italy and city of Baroque. EBC’s annual event brought together more than 75 representatives from participating drinking water supply and sanitation utilities.
Day 1 Highlights
The workshop began with a plenary session featuring Mr. Quazzo (CEO of the hosting utility SMAT S.p.A.), who introduced SMAT S.p.A., its activities and involvement in the benchmarking programme. Mr. Dane (Managing Director of EBC Foundation) then presented what happened since the last workshop in Porto, including the 2024 updates to the benchmarking programme's methodology, tools, and reporting. He also highlighted the challenges currently facing the water sector.
Also, Reshma Ghisaidoobe (Adviser Corporate Strategy, Dunea) shared insights from Dunea and other Dutch companies on developing a Value Creation Model. The Dutch water sector is working collectively on this model to demonstrate the broader societal impact of water utilities. Beyond supplying water, water utilities contribute significantly to societal well-being. A comprehensive understanding of this added value can bring numerous benefits, such as improved access to financing and enhanced stakeholder engagement.
Dr. Kay Möller (Managing Director, Aquabench) shared valuable insights from the German Task Force on CSRD, which focuses on two main objectives: promoting CSR (due to its value and benefits) and supporting companies in implementing the CSRD requirements. Dr. Möller also highlighted the ongoing challenge of improving reporting on Scope 3 emissions to ensure reliable results in the future. In addition, this issue was explored in detail during a dedicated session.
The water sector worldwide is facing numerous challenges, alongside tightening regulatory requirements. This underlines the importance of international knowledge and best practice exchange. During 25 sessions and 26 thematic presentations, participants explored pressing topics and sector challenges, including:
• Value Creation Model, CSRD requirements
• Regulating European Water Services
• Water Quality and Evolving Regulations
• Circular Economy Transformation, Building Industrial Synergies, Implementation of Innovative Solutions
• Climate Footprint Reporting
• Water Reuse, Water Availability
• Resilience Strategy, Robust Water Supply System
• Climate Risk Assessment, Strategy and Adaptation Plan
• Advanced Wastewater Treatment (fourth treatment stage)
• Asset Management, Smart Metering, Data Validation for Water Losses, Graphic Model
• Utility Management, Experiences from a new Limited Liability Company
• Benchmarking and Comparability Criteria
Day 2 Highlights
On the second day, Prof. Andrea Guerrini (President of WAREG) made an insightful presentation on the regulation of water services in various European countries.
In the afternoon, participants visited the largest Italian wastewater treatment plant (Castiglione Torinese), operated by SMAT S.p.A. which delivers biomethane to the gas network.
Recognition and Acknowledgements
Continuing our tradition, this year not two but three benchmarking coordinators – Eleonora Calandrino (SMAT S.p.A.), Inês Costa (Águas e Energia do Porto) and Bartosz Łuszczek (Krakow Water JSC), were awarded the prestigious “Coordinator of the Year” award for their active engagement in the benchmarking programme and significant contributions to the EBC water community. We very much value the contributions from participants where all colleagues in the network can benefit from. The awards are not just a symbol of recognition of the work of the sole benchmarking coordinator but of the entire team of the company, whose efforts benefit the network.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all speakers and moderators for your valuable contributions to the workshop agenda and your willingness to share the experiences and best practices of your companies. Your input ensured that the most relevant topics were highlighted during the workshop, and your efforts in moderating the sessions and fostering engaging discussions greatly enriched the agenda and ensured the event's success.
We also thank all participants for their active involvement and interesting discussions.
Special thanks to our hosts. We are deeply grateful to CEO - Mr. Armando Quazzo, and the team of SMAT S.p.A. for their professional organization and warm hospitality, which played a key role in the success of the workshop.
Thank you all once again, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration within the EBC-programme in 2025!