“WEX Global has been an amazing opportunity to build new relationships, consolidate existing relationships – and all looking towards and forwards to a sustainable future, especially with a with a water positive approach.”
“I was able to meet a lot of people a lot of new ideas …and I have to say thank you and now I understand why so many people come back again and again.”
The Water-Positive Economy
Delivering Abundance at Scale
Extreme climatic events are reshaping our relationship with water, exposing the vulnerability of our systems and intensifying pressure on resources, communities and ecosystems.
Building a water positive future will require more than managing scarcity. It means transforming the way we value, use, recover and reuse water and its co dependent resources, creating systems that deliver greater resilience, circularity and abundance while supporting the transition to net zero.
The opportunity is to move from isolated solutions to systemic change. Digital technologies and AI can accelerate this transformation, enabling circular solutions such as water reuse, energy recovery and resource recovery from waste. But delivering a truly water positive economy at scale will require collaboration across the entire value chain, turning innovation into action and creating a more resilient and sustainable future for all.
WEX Global 2027 Agenda
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Monday, February 1st – Sustainability Day
- 9.30am – 12.30pm Technical/Site visits
- 3pm – 5pm Pre-conference forum: Sustainable Water Stewardship
- 5pm – 7.30pm Pre-scheduled One-to-One Business Meetings begin
- 7.45pm Welcome reception at the WEX Global Hotel
Tuesday, February 2nd – Innovation Day
- One-to-One business meetings start at 8am
- Conference begins at 9.15am with the opening keynote at 9.30am
- Exchange Lunch – hosted two hour working lunch spent in round table discussion on a subject of your choice
- Conference sessions and business meetings throughout the day until 7pm
- WEX Global Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony at 8pm
Wednesday, February 3rd – Collaboration Day
- Business meetings begin at 8.30am
- WEX Global Roundtable Utility Session 9.15am
- Conference and Business meetings continue throughout the day
- 2.30pm Networking lunch
- Events closes 4.30pm approximately
Topics for 2027
Stewardship & System Design: How do we define and deliver desired outcomes at basin-scale?
A Water-Positive Economy is an economic system in which infrastructure, finance, technology, governance and market mechanisms are aligned to generate net positive outcomes for water systems whilst supporting sustainable economic and social development.
It begins with a clear understanding of the outcomes we are seeking to deliver. This stream explores how water security, basin resilience, ecosystem health and long-term prosperity can be defined, measured and governed.
- What is a Water-Positive Economy?
- What outcomes should it deliver?
- How do we measure success?
- How do we ensure credibility, accountability and verified impact?
Digital Intelligence – How do we measure, optimise and verify performance?
Water-positive outcomes cannot be delivered without the ability to understand, manage and optimise increasingly complex water systems. Digital intelligence provides the visibility, control and verification capabilities that comprise the operating system of the Water-Positive Economy.
- How do we move from data to decision-making?
- How do we optimise performance across entire systems?
- How do we build trust in digital infrastructure?
- How do we engage customers as active participants in water-positive outcomes?
Circular Infrastructure, Bioeconomy & Value Creation – Turning Water Systems into Economic Assets
The Water-Positive Economy demonstrates how water systems can move beyond treatment and compliance to become platforms for value creation. The circular bioeconomy is one of the principal value creation mechanisms within the Water-Positive Economy, transforming wastewater, biosolids and organic waste streams into energy, nutrients, materials and other productive resources. Through resource recovery, industrial collaboration and circular infrastructure, water systems have become active contributors to economic development, climate resilience and resource security.
- How do we recover value from waste streams?
- How do we integrate water, energy, agriculture and industry?
- How do cities, agriculture and industry participate in the Water-Positive Economy?
- How do we scale resource recovery into viable economic systems?
Finance, Markets, Policy and Sustainable Development: How do we Mobilise Investment and Scale Implementation?
The transition to a Water-Positive Economy requires more than technology. It requires investment, market creation and policy frameworks capable of accelerating deployment and rewarding positive outcomes. Alongside investors and development institutions, insurers and risk-transfer mechanisms will play an increasingly important role in reducing risk, improving bankability and supporting investment in long-term resilience.
The ability to finance Water-Positive Outcomes depends upon trusted metrics, transparent governance and credible verification systems. As markets for water-positive value emerge, investors, governments and industry will increasingly require confidence that outcomes can be measured, validated and linked to real environmental, social and economic benefits.
This stream examines how finance, policy and market mechanisms can mobilise capital, reduce risk and accelerate the implementation of water-positive solutions at scale.
- How do projects become investable?
- How do we mobilise public and private capital?
- How do PPPs evolve to deliver system-level outcomes?
- How do we create markets for Water-Positive Outcomes?
Collaboration, Innovation & Governance – Turning Vision into Action
Delivering water-positive outcomes requires collaboration across utilities, governments, industry, investors, technology providers and civil society. This stream focuses on implementation, accountability and collective action.
- How do stakeholders align around shared outcomes?
- How do we accelerate innovation and deployment?
- How do we build effective partnerships?
- What actions are required to accelerate the transition?
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