The way to carbon neutrality for water utilities

Low-carbon, low-energy solutions in the water sector that make economic sense

Follow the (WaCCliM) roadmap to reduce the water energy and carbon footprints of the urban water cycle

Low-carbon, low-energy solutions in the water sector that make economic sense

We guide you through our steps for a low carbon urban water management, which inspires the critical thinking required to look at the urban water cycle holistically and identify opportunities for increasing efficiencies and reducing costs, while reducing your utility’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Why decarbonize now?

Water and wastewater utilities are at the forefront of climate change, as every impact derived from it –more intense and frequent rainfall, sea level rises, or drought – directly affect companies’ operations. Contributing to mitigate the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions released into the atmosphere by water utilities not only makes economic sense, it’s also an environmentally and socially responsible action to build resilience over the long-term.

 

Assess your system

How can you prioritise amongst dozen potential measures to either optimize your system or plan for future assets?

The Energy Performance and Carbon Emissions Assessment and Monitoring (ECAM) tool allows you to assess baseline GHG emissions and where the best opportunities for improvements lie.

Identify opportunities for improvement

Identifying the options for improvement using ECAM Opportunities calculators and the Catalogue of solutions.

Moving from assessing the potential for improvement (ECAM) to assessing technical options to achieve this improvement Templates for data collection for specific facilities such as Pumping stations, treatment plants. There will be one template provided per facility type.

Implement solutions

Once alternatives for GHG reduction have been assessed, the ultimate selection should be based on the identification of feasible financing mechanisms for implementing the measures. You can get started on how to prepare bankable projects based on prospective financing, and how to secure financing.

Monitor performance and verify GHG emissions reduction

With the data framework in place, your system can be monitored using the ECAM-Tool on a quarterly or monthly basis, enabling to report on seasonal variabilities and progress made when optimisation measures are implemented.

Latest resources

The WaCCliM Project: GHG Emissions Reduction in the Urban Water and Wastewater Sector

GIZ 2023

Beyond economic incentives: enabling mitigation action in the water sector

GIZ 2023

Position paper: Monitoring and mitigation of process gas emission in wastewater treatment plants

Xylem 2023

Guide on Developing a Climate Risk plan for Small to Medium Sized Water and Wastewater Utilities

GIZ
Assess your utility’s carbon footprint
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Assess your utility’s energy performance and GHG emissions

Assess my system