Zero pollution for a resilient water smart water society and economy

Europe has made significant progress in advancing the Zero Pollution ambition, generating a strong portfolio of knowledge, technologies and innovative approaches to reduce water pollution. However, despite this progress, water systems across Europe continue to face increasing pressures, with persistent gaps between available solutions and their large-scale implementation.

At the same time, EU Green Week 2026 places a strong focus on investing in nature, highlighting the need to protect, restore and enhance ecosystems as a foundation for economic resilience and societal well-being. In this context, water systems play a critical role, as they underpin ecosystem functions, biodiversity, climate adaptation and resource efficiency.

The EU Water Resilience Strategy provides a systemic framework to address these challenges, calling for integrated approaches that connect policy objectives with implementation on the ground.

In this landscape, the ZeroPollution4Water Cluster, coordinated by Water Europe, plays a pivotal role as a structured ecosystem of EU-funded projects addressing water pollution from multiple and complementary perspectives. The cluster brings together a critical mass of knowledge, solutions and approaches, and enables a transition from isolated innovation to coordinated action, supporting the evolution from Zero Pollution objectives towards water resilience.

The cluster therefore does not only generate knowledge, but provides a collective evidence base and a portfolio of solutions that can inform policy implementation, support investing in nature and contribute to restoring ecosystem functions through water systems.

The event is structured as a progressive dialogue in which the projects of the ZP4Water Cluster act as a reference point for moving from policy to evidence, from systems understanding to implementation pathways. The objective is to identify how Europe can effectively invest in nature through water systems and accelerate the transition towards a water-smart society and economy.