The Catalan Water Partnership holds its XVII General Assembly and presents its new 2025–2028 strategic plan

On 18 June, the Catalan Water Partnership held its XVII General Assembly and presented the new strategic plan that will define the entity’s objectives, strategy, and actions for the 2025–2028 period, aligned with the needs of the sustainable water use sector.

The event began with a welcome by the president of the organisation, Jordi Cros, who highlighted the main achievements of the past year at the CWP: 28 cooperative projects carried out, 10 studies and support services for members, more than 25 events organised, participation as speakers in 57 events – strongly marked by drought issues – and more than 120 presentations delivered by member organisations. Over 6,700 attendees took part in these events, demonstrating the sector’s importance. The CWP also promoted participation in 7 international trade fairs and conferences together with its members. Growth in membership was also underlined, with a total of 32 new members in 2024 and 14 in the first half of 2025. Of these 46 new members between 2024 and 2025, 17 new organisations joined since the last assembly and gave brief presentations: Gestagua, BIOPulcher, GasN2, EMATSA, TAG Automotive, SEAT, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Belgicast, Geoambient, Inprisa, SATEC, SEYS, Aquacycle, SIXENSE, Instituto de Consumo Energético, Inèdit i COFUNCO. The cluster president gave special thanks for the trust placed by all the members, both long-standing and newly joined, in what is becoming an ever-larger community.

The second part of the session focused on the presentation and approval of 2024 activities, highlighting the 28 projects developed that year and the 19 initiatives ongoing in 2025, including not only R&D&I projects but also studies, contracts and support services for members. Among the highlighted projects were 10 AEIs underway with an impact of more than €2M, European projects such as Aqualoops4Med, coordinated by the CWP with a €3.6M budget, and various studies and collaborations such as the one with the Cambra de Comerç through its Observatori de Transició Hídrica.
Several key projects were showcased during the assembly, with some participating member entities sharing their experiences, including projects such as SMARTHOTEL 3.0, SATWATER, BIODAPH, SEA4VALUE, Especies Invasoras and Agrixels. Upcoming calls for proposals in which the Catalan Water Partnership intends to participate were also presented, along with the schedule of future events and internationalisation activities.

Next, the networking activity “Drop2drop: connecting companies drop by drop” took place, encouraging interaction and collaboration among attending organisations and strengthening connections within the cluster.

One of the central moments of the assembly was the presentation of the new 2025–2028 strategic plan, which will define the CWP’s roadmap for the coming years. The document was drawn up based on data from the Sustainable Water Use Sector in Catalonia Report by ACCIÓ, a strategic update with key insights into the sector’s current context and members’ participation over the past year. The main indicators from the previous plan were reviewed, showing growth of over 60 members, participation in 58 projects with an impact of €55M, 150 events organised with more than 13,500 attendees, and 28 international activities. The new action plan and indicators for the 2025–2028 period were also presented. A restructuring of the organisation’s strategic axes was announced, reducing them from seven to six: R&D and innovation, Business development and sectoral cooperation, internationalisation, visibility and knowledge, digital transformation and circular economy.

Before the event’s closing, Ángel Pascual, Professor of Geopolitics and Geoeconomics at ESADE Business School, delivered the keynote speech titled “The End of History’s Holidays: The New Context of Geopolitical Fragmentation and its Impact on Business.” The talk highlighted that: “Global geopolitical fragmentation is putting an end to the logic of globalisation based on mutual gain, and forces companies to develop geopolitical awareness to manage growing risks in a world defined by uncertainty, great power rivalries and strategic competition.”

The event concluded with a closing address by Jordi Aguilera, Vice President of the Catalan Water Partnership, who reflected on the years ahead: “The 2025–2028 Strategic Plan we shared today reflects this ambition. It gives us a clear direction: to grow, yes – but above all, to grow with purpose, with impact, and with shared value. We aim to be a platform that anticipates, connects, and transforms.”

Once again, the General Assembly of the Catalan Water Partnership – with over 120 attendees – proved to be a key space to reflect on achievements, share current initiatives and outline future actions. This year, it also set out a vision for the coming years, positioning the cluster as: “A global reference entity in sustainable water use, leading innovation, collaboration and internationalisation in the sector, generating value for its members and delivering sustainable and competitive solutions to the major global water management challenges.”