The European Commission's consultation on the Industrial Emissions Directive concluded yesterday and we are now happy to release our new position paper "A New Industrial Emissions Directive: Mastering water efficiency and reuse challenges". The Industrial Emission Directive has proven its added value with the industrial emissions being decreased over the past decade in Europe. However, it is now time to focus on pollution reduction to water and soil and improve water efficiency. Therefore, Water Europe has welcomed the initiative of the European Commission to update this directive which will contribute to: 1. Securing European Competitiveness; 2. Improving our environmental legacy for the future generations ; 3. Strengthening European strategic autonomy. How can a New Industrial Emissions Directive contribute to a Water-Smart Society? By leveraging water-related standards in each bref; by setting-up a horizontal bref on water efficiency; by including mandatory systems assessment for water usage; by incentivizing industrial water efficiency, cascading and reuse water through subsidies; by deploying digital water solutions for water-energy efficiencies.
Examples of Water-Smart practices for a New Industrial Emissions Directive:
Water reuse in the petrochemical industry
Zero Brine – Re-designing the value and supply chain of water and minerals: A circular economy approach for the recovery of resources from brine generated by process industries