Seville was the setting chosen to host this year’s WEX Global convention, entitled "Water, Energy and Climate Change- Smart circular solutions to build a better world".
More than 200 experts from more than 40 countries participated in 17 round table sessions to discuss, analyze and share best practices in water and electricity management at the meeting, which is one of the world’s major water events.
WEX Global was first held in 2007 and this year celebrated its 17th anniversary with a record number of attendees. Over 200 people attended the three-day event, which reflects the interest in talking about water and energy today. In fact, WEX was opened by Teresa Ribera, the Spanish Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, who pointed out that water and energy "must become a driving force for change". According to the Minister, this change must go hand in hand with agreements between the public and private sectors "to provide a better service and mitigate climate change".
This year, WEX Global was co-organised by Idrica, with Global Omnium as the "welcoming utility". According to Jaime Barba, CEO of Idrica, it is a "source of pride to be co-organisers. In his opening speech, Barba pointed out the importance of water and energy in a world "that is constantly changing in an uncertain environment". In this sense, Idrica's CEO described today's society as "vulnerable", although he did point out that despite this vulnerability "robust water and energy management can help us to face the future with optimism".
This year’s event was also the ideal showcase to present Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua
In turn, Mark Barber, CEO of WEX Global, expressed his satisfaction at having Idrica and Global Omnium back once again to "examine the opportunities created by the rapidly developing green digital nexus and, in particular, the role of digital transformation as an enabler of climate action".
This year’s event was also the ideal showcase to present Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua, the platform created as a result of the agreement signed by Idrica and the multinational Xylem Inc. that combines Idrica's GoAigua technology with Xylem Vue, Xylem's portfolio of digital solutions.
In highlighting this thematic synergy, Géraud de Saint-Exupéry, Vice President Europe Business Development and Customer Excellence at Xylem Inc. stated that "we believe that digitalization and smart solutions are accelerators of the circular economy for areas as important as water and energy, so this agreement is exciting, because we combine our expertise, our teams and our solutions in Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua".
17 meetings to build a better world
WEX Global is an international event which aims to share expert knowledge. Thus, the three days of the meeting included different activities such as discussion forums, a visit to the water utility Aljarafesa, "one-to-one" meetings and the WEX Global Awards ceremony held at the Seville aquarium.
In total, the event featured 17 round table discussions with over 80 experts in different areas from over 40 countries who analyzed and debated on the topics that made up the backbone of the meeting: water, energy and climate change.
According to Jaime Barba, Idrica’s participation in WEX Global reflects the company’s spirit, as it enables us "to continue strengthening an ecosystem in which water, digital technology, sensor technology and instrumentation are at the core of serving society". In turn, de Saint-Exupéry described this event as "crucial to successfully face future challenges and build a better world".
