Protocol WRC-IWR
Public consultationWater reused is water not withdrawn.
The protocol for industrial reuse loops. Each cubic metre reused to specification, in place of a withdrawal, becomes a verified certificate.Each cubic metre reused in place of a withdrawal becomes a verified certificate.
02The situation
Treated water mostly goes back to the river.
Europe treats its wastewater but reuses barely one drop in forty. For industry, every cubic metre reused is a cubic metre no longer withdrawn from an aquifer or a river.Barely 2.4% of treated wastewater is reused in Europe.
03Who it is for
What each party gains.
One loop, certified once, serves every party: industrial sites, solution providers, treatment plant operators and the companies committed in the basin.One loop, certified once, serves every party.
- Industrial sitesCut your withdrawals, secure supply during restrictions, and prove it.
- Solution providersTreatment, loops, digitalisation: get paid per cubic metre reused and verified.
- Local authorities and plant operatorsPut treated wastewater to industrial use and record the reused volumes on the registry.
- Contributing companiesA traceable contribution in your basin, reusable in your water reporting.
04Methodological alignment
Credible by design.
Built on the references auditors, regulators and funders already use. Nothing that matters is self-declared.
- Water accounting
- VWBA 2.0
- ISO 14046
- Measurement & verification
- IPMVP
- ISO 14064-2
- ISO 14064-3
- Evidence & traceability
- ISO 22095
- ISO/IEC 15459
- Independent verification
- ISO/IEC 17029
- ISO 14065
Data reusable in:CSRD · ESRS E3 · CDP Water Security · SBTN Freshwater · AWS Standard v3.0 · GRI 303 · CEO Water Mandate
05What we certify
One reuse loop, up to three certificates.
One loop balance, verified once, can give three distinct certificates, never added together. Energy and carbon are shown alongside, including any increase.One loop balance, up to three distinct certificates.
- Volume (WRC). The withdrawal or consumption avoided, in cubic metres.
- Quality (WQC). The pollutant load no longer discharged, pollutant by pollutant.
- Biodiversity (BDC). The water-linked ecological gain, measured against a baseline.
06How it works
From the loop to the certificate.
Each step leaves evidence the independent verifier can check.Each step leaves verifiable evidence.
01QualifyFive domains assessed, and additionality shown for each certificate sought.
02Set the baselineRealistic operation without the loop, brought to the same production.
03Measure the loopMake-up, blowdown, evaporation and recirculation, metered continuously.
04Rule out reboundTotal site consumption must not rise; any increase is deducted.
05Verify and certifyAI agents on every data point, validation by an accredited verifier, issuance on the registry.
07The measurement
Counting the withdrawal avoided.
The protocol draws up the full balance of the loop: make-up, blowdown, evaporation, recirculated water. Only the withdrawal avoided counts: water circulating in the loop is never certified.Only the withdrawal avoided counts, never the water circulating in the loop.
- Balance closed within ±5%, taken at the lower value.
- Baseline brought to the same production (IPMVP adjustments).
- Rebound deducted: total consumption must not rise.
+Questions
What if incoming effluent is off-spec?
The contract can exclude volumes the provider does not control. The protocol records them separately.
Does all treated water count?
No. Only reuse that replaces a withdrawal counts, compared with the baseline.
What if reuse uses more energy?
Energy and carbon are recorded alongside. A net increase in energy is shown, never hidden.
Who can submit a project?
Industrial sites and providers that operate or sell a reuse loop. The protocol is about to be validated: projects can be submitted for qualification now.
Who verifies the volumes?
An independent, accredited body checks the evidence and signs. Veracity never verifies.