Sustainable exchange during the 2nd Knowledge Picnic

On Friday 13 September, EBC together with Va Syd and Waternet organized the second Knowledge Picnic in Malmö (Sweden). 17 participants from 7 different utilities gathered to discuss about sustainability. The UN Sustainable Development Goals formed a central part in this discussion and acted as a guidance. 

Central questions during the Picnic were: How can we make the implementation of the SDG’s measurable? Can we as water utilities provide evidence that our actions are sustainable and in line with the SDG's? What is the connection between our everyday work and the seemingly abstract and distant SDG’s?

During the Picnic there was a brief intermezzo during which one of the colleagues from Va Syd guided the group around the area to show some of the stormwater solutions implemented nearby. 

The picnic formed a starting point of a more extensive discussion, which will continue during the annual workshop in Helsinki. Though some first results were already booked:

• Exchanging information about implementation and existing procedures to measure sustainability/link with the SDG’s.
• A better common understanding of the SDG’s, the possible consequences for the water sector and the role we as a sector could play. 
• A first idea of a framework/indicators with which performance related to the SDG’s could be monitored.