‘Every Drop Counts’ Campaign Launch & Summer Reception

Europe is facing rising water stress, ageing infrastructure, and increasing pressure on local utilities. The EU’s Water Resilience Strategy calls for smarter, more efficient water management – and cities are already stepping up.

In this context, we are delighted to invite you to the launch of the WE Data Europe City Campaign “Every Drop Counts”, alongside participating cities and regions from across Europe. The campaign brings together leading voices committed to advancing practical, data-driven solutions for water efficiency in buildings and cities, alongside Commissioner Jessika Roswall and Members of the European Parliament.

The evening will take place as a summer reception in a courtyard setting, with food, drinks, and a series of short speeches from policy-makers.

Place: Avenue des Arts 56, 1000 Brussels (courtyard)
Date & Time: 2 July, 17:30 – 20:00

18:00 – Opening Words by:

Markus Weidling, CEO WE Data Europe

Sofia Lettenbichler, Managing Director WE Data Europe

Keynote Speeches: 

MEP Kristian Vigenin, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

MEP Kai Tegethoff, The Greens/European Free Alliance

MEP Thomas Bajada, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

 

And once the formal programme wraps up, we’ll keep the evening going with a relaxed atmosphere and good company!

Join us to celebrate the launch, connect with peers, and be part of a growing movement putting water resilience at the top of Europe’s agenda.

 

Please confirm your attendance by 30 June by sending an email to office@wedata.eu.

 

We look forward to welcoming you for an inspiring and enjoyable summer evening!

Beyond AccelerateEU: Digital Solutions and Best Practices for Immediate Energy Savings

The recent energy crises have shown that supply-side measures alone are insufficient to ensure energy security in Europe. We therefore welcome the European Commission’s AccelerateEU Catalogue, which recognises optimised default settings for centralised heating systems, alongside smart heating controls and thermostats, as fast routes to stronger resilience, lower energy bills and greater energy independence.
 
While this represents a significant step toward more energy-efficient buildings, WE Data Europe has identified readily available digital solutions based on submetering data that further enhance transparency, encourage behavioural change, and unlock additional efficiency gains of up to 30% through data-driven optimisation that go beyond the Commission’s current recommendations.
 
The paper presents practical and scalable measures, including:
 
Digital best practices
  • Deploying submetering to improve transparency and achieve energy savings
  • Digital optimisation of heating and cooling systems
  • Targeted building renovations enabled by accurate consumption data
Policy best practices from Member States
  • Boosting submetering coverage in buildings
  • Using submetering data to detect inefficiencies
  • Optimising heating systems and improving hydraulic balancing
Together, these recommendations provide practical tools to deliver immediate energy savings, strengthen resilience, enhance affordability, and accelerate the transition towards a more secure and sustainable European energy system.
 
Download the full paper below to explore the recommendations and best practices in detail.
Download the Recommendations

WE Data Europe’s Interview with Smart Water Magazine

Smart Water Magazine - WE Data Europe Article (Water Resilience Digitalisation)

Digitalisation is rapidly becoming one of the most important levers for strengthening Europe’s water resilience and at WE Data Europe, we believe our industry is ready to deliver. That’s the message we shared in our recent feature in Smart Water Magazine, where we discussed how data‑driven water management can help utilities, policymakers, and building owners respond to growing water stress across the continent.

In the article, we highlight a simple truth: you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Smart metering, submetering, and digital monitoring give water managers the real‑time insights they need to detect leaks early, understand consumption patterns, and optimise systems at scale. These tools are no longer “future technologies”, they are mature, proven solutions already delivering measurable savings across Europe.

But unlocking their full potential requires a supportive regulatory framework, consistent implementation across regions, and a shared commitment to digital transformation. As an industry, we stand ready to support this shift with the expertise, technology, and data needed to build a more resilient water future.

You can find the first part of the article below. If you’re interested in how digitalisation can strengthen Europe’s water systems and the role our sector can play, we invite you to read the full article on Smart Water Magazine’s website here.

 

As Europe faces growing challenges around water scarcity and resource efficiency, the digital transformation of the water sector has never been more urgent. WE Data Europe, the European Association for Energy and Water Data Management, unites companies and organisations leading the way in smart metering and data-driven resource management. In this interview, Markus Weidling, CEO, and Sofia Lettenbichler, Managing Director of WE Data Europe, discuss how digital metering empowers both utilities and consumers to use water more efficiently. They share insights from a new pan-European study showing that smart water metering can reduce household consumption by up to 25%, highlighting how data, technology, and policy alignment can drive Europe’s transition towards a more sustainable and resilient water future.

WE Data Europe, the European Association for Energy and Water Data Management, brings together companies and organisations at the forefront of digital metering and data management across Europe. Could you briefly explain WE Data Europe’s mission and how it supports the digital transformation of the water sector?

Markus Weidling: At WE Data Europe, our mission is simple but powerful: you can’t manage what you don’t measure. We represent the companies that make it possible to collect, analyse, and act on energy and water data in buildings. By promoting the rollout of smart water and energy metering, we accelerate Europe’s transition towards more efficient, sustainable, and resilient resource management.

Sofia Lettenbichler: The digital transformation of the water sector starts with data. Digital metering enables real-time insights into how water is used, helping consumers understand and optimise their consumption. Our role is to bridge innovation and policy so that these solutions can scale across Europe.” […]

Unlocking up to 40% Energy Savings: How Digital Optimisation Transforms Building Heating Systems in Europe

Image building grey

Heating and cooling is at the heart of Europe’s energy challenge. Buildings account for 40% of the EU’s total energy consumption [Energy Balances, Eurostat, May 2025], with heating and cooling demand alone responsible for over a quarter of final energy use [Energy consumption in households Eurostat, June 25]. Yet, most buildings still operate oversized, misconfigured heating systems, often running at unnecessarily high supply temperatures, wasting vast amounts of energy and blocking the integration of low-temperature heating sources.

Drawing on real-life case studies of digital solutions implemented in Germany, Denmark and Spain, this brochure demonstrates how data-driven heating system optimisation, enabled by submetering and smart control technologies, can tackle these inefficiencies and unlock sustained energy savings of 20 – 40% without requiring structural changes or major investments, while maintaining thermal comfort of residents.

Digital optimisation achieves these results by using consumption and temperature data to adjust heating system settings, improve hydraulic balancing, and lower return temperatures, ensuring that the energy is delivered in the building in the most efficient way possible, only when and where it is needed.

Beyond reducing energy waste, optimisation solutions make buildings ready for low-temperature heating solutions, such as heat pumps and district heating, and therefore directly support the decarbonisation objectives of the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Find our Brochure, featuring seven case studies on heating system optimisation, here.

Based on these findings, WE Data Europe recommends the following points to be taken up in the Heating & Cooling Strategy as well as in the Electrification Action Plan:

  1. Introduce a dedicated digitalisation chapter
  2. Prioritise data-driven optimisation of heating systems in investments on buildings efficiency
  3. Favour digital metering over drive-by or walk-by systems to maximise the benefits of remotely readable meters
  4. Ensure the full and consistent implementation of the Energy Efficiency Directive across Member States.

Find our full set of Policy Recommendations here.

Download the Brochure
Download the Policy Recommendations

WE Data Europe Study Confirms Smart Water Metering Can Cut Household Water Use by up to 25%

Macro picture of water drop

Brussels, 30 September – WE Data Europe today publishes a landmark pan-European study confirming that water metering and sub-metering can reduce household water consumption by up to 25%, directly supporting the EU’s Water Resilience Strategy target of a 10% improvement in water efficiency by 2030.

About the Study

Commissioned by WE Data Europe and conducted by VITO, the study analysed water consumption data from six EU Member States, complemented by expert interviews and a wide literature review. It is the first analysis of its kind at European scale, providing robust evidence on the impact of smart water metering.

Key Findings

  • Metering works: Installing individual water meters where none previously exist typically cuts water use by up to 25%.
  • Digital meters deliver more: Switching from analogue to digital meters saves an additional 5–8%, while enabling leak detection and real-time feedback.
    • Leak detection is powerful: Buildings with such systems consumed 7–14% less water.
    • Behavioural change matters: Real-time information helps households prevent waste and use water more mindfully.

Country Highlights

  • Belgium: Leak detection cut water consumption by 13.6%.
  • France: Leak detection reduced use by 7.5%.
  • Germany: Consumption-based billing lowered consumption by 5.1%.
  • Denmark: Digital meters cut long-term water use by 5.2%.
  • Spain: Digital meters reduced consumption by 12.3%.
  • The Netherlands: Digital meters brought sustained reductions of 6.2% over several years.

Policy Context

The European Commission’s Water Resilience Strategy (2025) calls on Member States to improve water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030, explicitly pointing to smart metering and digitalisation as key tools to empower citizens and businesses.
In 2026, the Commission will present an EU-wide Action Plan on Digitalisation in the Water Sector, including a Smart Water Metering for All initiative. The findings of this study demonstrate the scale of potential savings and provide timely evidence for why such EU-wide measures are needed. 

The full study is available for download here.

Delivering on Water Resilience: What Can We Look Forward to

Reflection image of a building in the water

The Water Resilience Strategy sets out a long-term vision centred on three core objectives: restoring and protecting the natural water cycle; building a water-smart economy; and ensuring clean, safe, and affordable water and sanitation for all. To support the achievement of these goals, the EU is planning to act across five key areas: governance, financing, digitalisation, research and innovation, and security. Each area will be supported by targeted flagship actions, scheduled from 2025 to 2029. But will the Strategy live up to its expectations? This remains an open question as it follows two previous attempts from the Commission to address similar challenges: The 2007 Communication on Water Scarcity and Droughts, and the 2012 Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources.  

A Look Back: Previous Initiatives and Political Context  

Already in 2007, the Commission had stressed the urgent need for Member States to improve water efficiency in light of growing water stress across the continent. By 2012, it renewed its warning and urged river basin authorities in Member States to set water savings targets based on water stress indicators. A common EU methodology for setting these targets was planned for 2014 but ultimately failed to materialise. This raises a crucial concern: What makes the current Strategy more likely to succeed? 

The earlier initiatives relied heavily on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and were limited to supporting Member States in achieving the ecological status targets for their water bodies. Since then, the EU water acquis has evolved, notably through the recast Drinking Water Directive, introducing new provisions focused on water quantity management and consumer information. As a result, the Water Resilience Strategy now benefits from a more mature and comprehensive policy framework on which to build more long-term actions for water efficiency. 

Meanwhile the EU has experienced an unprecedented succession of extreme climate events, spurring public support and national initiatives on water management.  This growing alignment between public opinion, national action, and EU-level commitment, underlines future willingness amongst Member States to implement the EU agenda on Water Resilience.  

Towards Implementation: Financing, Implementation and Mid-Term Review  

The Strategy’s implementation will be backed by financial support. The European Investment Bank’s Water Programme is expected to finance over €15 billion in water-related projects between 2025 and 2027. In addition, EU funds will be used to support pilot projects aimed at reducing leakage rates, including through the deployment of digital tools and smart water metering. Looking further ahead, the Strategy is aiming to ensure long-term sustainability through the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, highlighting the opportunity this future EU budget offers to align investment and reform efforts with its objectives. 

However, as complex negotiations between Member States and EU institutions unfold in the coming years, it remains uncertain whether the recommendation to embed water-related priorities in the next MFF will be taken up. 

Another strength of the Water Resilience Strategy is its commitment to regular monitoring and implementation reviews, a critical element missing in previous initiatives. Starting in December 2025, the Commission will convene a Water Resilience Forum every two years, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders to discuss progress, monitor implementation, and exchange best practices. 

In addition, in 2027, the Commission will conduct a mid-term review of the Strategy’s implementation, including a first evaluation of the uptake of the Recommendation on Water Efficiency First. Based on its findings, some of the actions may be updated or revised, a positive sign that implementation of the provisions will remain a central focus. This will be followed in 2029 by a full evaluation of the national actions taken under the Strategy and the Recommendation, potentially informing updates to the targets and the introduction of new measures, including potential new legislation.  

Which policy outlook for the building sector? 

The Water Resilience Strategy identifies the building sector as a priority for improving water efficiency. As highlighted in our previous article, digitalisation, particularly through the Smart Water Metering for All initiative, offers key opportunities to enable and translate the provisions of the recast of the Drinking Water Directive into practical benefits for consumers while improving the water efficiency of the building stock. Under the revised Directive, Member States are required to develop, by 2028, national action plans to reduce their infrastructural leakage rates. The digitalisation of water management in buildings opens the door to a holistic leakage reduction strategy from source to tap, helping to save substantial volumes of water. It also improves resource affordability, tackling – for example – in-building leaks which often remain undetected yet are billed to occupants.  

Looking ahead, the 2026–2027 work programme of the New European Bauhaus initiative provides a promising vehicle to advance water-resilient design and planning in buildings.  These objectives are expected to be reinforced through the Affordable Housing Plan, scheduled for Q1 2026, which could embed requirements or incentives for improved water efficiency in buildings. This effort will be further supported by the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products and Energy Labelling Work Programme for 2025–2030, which will expand its scope to help consumers equip their homes with more water-efficient products and appliances. 

The building sector stands out as a strategic entry point to translate policy ambition into measurable impact. The Water Resilience Strategy provides a concrete framework for action and it is now up to Member States to seize this momentum and scale up their efforts across all sectors.  

Overall, the Water Resilience Strategy sets out a more structured, better funded, and politically supported roadmap than its predecessors. While success is not guaranteed, the conditions for meaningful implementation appear stronger than before. One area where this potential can be clearly observed is the building sector, a recognised priority for advancing water efficiency and where the tools already exist that can make a difference.