News

Sustainable Water Management through Water Reuse

A workshop in Tokyo discussed wastewater use as a solution to growing water stress, completing joint research by UNU-IAS and UNU-FLORES.

On 8–10 November 2023 UNU-IAS hosted a workshop on sustainable water management in Europe and Japan. It concluded the SMART-WaterDomain project, which developed a systematic framework to facilitate smart reuse of wastewater resources and an assessment mechanism for companies to integrate these techniques in their value chains.

Engaging researchers, industry representatives and policymakers, the workshop shared multi-disciplinary insights on water reuse and addressed climate-responsive strategies. Participants discussed barriers and opportunities for agricultural and industrial water reuse, focusing on corporate responsibility and the introduction of the SMART-WaterDomain Decision Support Tool for environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.

Participants included representatives from universities, research institutes, the Government of Japan and companies. The workshop was organized by UNU-IAS and the UNU Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES).

SMART-Water Domain Workshop Group
Photo: Christian Brauneck / UNU-IAS

About the SMART-Water Domain Project

Funded by the EIG-Concert Japan and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the project comprises a scientific consortium of 11 universities and research institutions from five European countries and Japan. It aims to promote the uptake of reused wastewater in industrial and agricultural value chains as a technique for reducing demands for freshwater, equalizing the distribution of water to reflect global demographic changes and increase environmental resilience.

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