Focus on the water and waste markets

Water and wastewater management solutions company SUEZ has released a new strategic plan for 2027, focusing on the water and waste markets. 

The company’s research and development (R&D) budget will be increased by 50 percent which also aims to boost investment by €860 million (circa $1.3 billion AUD) in circular solutions for the water and waste sectors over the next five years.

The new strategic plan is centred around improving people’s quality of life on a day-to-day basis through water and waste innovations. This will help utilities in Australia, and around the world, better understand how to combat growing challenges, including flooding, droughts, energy challenges, pipeline leaks and more.

One of the most significant developments in the water sector is the implementation of digital technologies such as IoT-connected devices and smart meters. These can increase asset efficiency, improve customer experience, as well as ease communication between utilities and end-users.

SUEZ’s new strategic plan will harness digital technologies to help strengthen solutions for preserving water resources, combating pollutants, recycling, producing green energy from wastewater and reducing customers’ carbon footprints.

The plan also highlights a continued investment in technology that preserves water by detecting leaks in networks, as well as advising users on consumption, behind the meter leakage and providing the utilities a tool to interact with users through mean like gamification.

These approaches will increase SUEZ’s global footprint, leading to improved recovery of wastewater for reuse, energy harvesting and carbon footprint reduction and of course, improving water resilience in markets like Australia and around the world.

The new strategic plan and global research and development projects will provide new insights, supporting local utility operations in Australia to implement the most efficient methods of water management under a streamlined operating model. These insights and new models will provide clients with a comprehensive approach to managing their utility assets across their entire lifecycle.

Australia also has strong plans in place to achieve carbon neutrality, and utilities can play a significant role in this by reducing the emissions produced and creating green energy from their wastewater resource. Focusing on developing innovations and new technologies that can support these goals will put Australian utilities one step ahead. 

SUEZ Australia & New Zealand CEO, Roberto Bianchi, said these new research and innovation projects aim to add value for the company’s clients. 

This all-inclusive approach ties in with SUEZ’s strategic plan, which provides societal inclusion benefits, with investments in skills. It also encompasses ‘Fondation SUEZ’, which supports projects in developing countries that provide residents with greater access to water, sanitation and waste.

By the end of 2022, SUEZ will publish a sustainable development roadmap, which proactively addressed climate, nature conservation and social matters.

By innovating the way utilities manage water, SUEZ can help them mitigate the impact of environmental challenges, whilst improving the lives of their communities for generations to come.