The role of industry for sustainable water in 2050

Industry is the Swedish social sector that uses the most water, around two-thirds of total water use. Swedish industry has higher consumption than the corresponding companies in southern Europe and there is a good opportunity for efficiency gains.

Despite this, both society and industry lack focus on industrial water use in Sweden. With more conscious water management, industries can, themselves and in cooperation with other actors, reduce environmental impact, ensure socially important water supply, improve process performance and reduce costs.

The project contributed to global competitiveness by supporting Swedish industry to increased resource efficiency, sustainable transition and increased resilience. The project was led by RISE with participating actors from industry, VA organisations, municipalities and regions, as well as authorities.

In cooperation, the project group:

• Identified and involved more key players, also internationally
• Used foresight methodology to define future scenarios for how industry's water use develops and interacts with society
• Produced prioritized system moves
• Identified interventions in the next stage of WWS to optimize industrial water management
   

Do you and your company/organization want to contribute to future work with sustainable industrial water of the future? Please contact the project coordinator!