In June 2025, the European Commission launched the European Water Resilience Strategy, setting out a clear path to ensure Europe’s water security. As climate change intensifies droughts, floods, and water scarcity, the EU aims to make water use more efficient, infrastructure more resilient, and ensure access to safe water for all. Real estate owners across Europe are directly impacted: water resilience is now a core element of property risk management, operational cost control, and ESG compliance.
The strategy outlines three main objectives:
Restoring and protecting the water cycle
Building a water-smart economy
Securing clean and affordable water for all
For commercial real estate, this means preparing for a regulatory environment that places increasing emphasis on digitalisation, infrastructure modernisation, and water efficiency.
Water is now a financial and regulatory issue. According to the Commission, EU leakage levels range from 8% to 57% in public supply networks, with billions lost annually to wasted water. The strategy calls on member states to roll out smart metering and modern leak detection as a priority, aiming for at least a 10% improvement in efficiency by 2030.
For property owners, this means:
Rising expectations to report water use in ESG disclosures.
Pressure to manage leaks and consumption more effectively.
Increasing costs if inefficiencies are not addressed.
(Visual suggestion: map of Europe showing variation in leakage levels and efficiency targets.)
The Commission highlights digitalisation as a game-changer. By 2026, it will roll out an EU-wide action plan on smart metering, supporting better data sharing and monitoring across industries. For real estate, this aligns with the need for accurate, real-time consumption insights at both building and tenant levels.
The strategy calls for substantial investments in upgrading Europe’s aging water infrastructure. Leak prevention, network modernisation, and efficient building systems are top priorities. For commercial property owners, this translates into both a challenge—adapting existing assets—and an opportunity to future-proof portfolios.
The strategy is closely tied to the EU’s Green Deal and ESG reporting frameworks. For owners, meeting BREEAM, CSRD, and GRESB requirements will increasingly depend on transparent, high-quality water data.
While the EU lays out the framework, property owners need solutions today. Rhino provides real-time water monitoring and leak detection tools that directly address the EU’s priorities. By deploying Rhino’s smart water monitoring platform, owners can:
Detect and resolve leaks before they cause costly damage.
Track water consumption across properties in real time.
Automate reporting for ESG frameworks like CSRD and BREEAM.
Rhino is the best smart water monitoring tool for commercial real estate, designed to help owners cut costs, prevent damage, and stay compliant with new EU water resilience measures. Contact Rhino Sales to explore how you can future-proof your assets.