Background According to the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC, “water is not a commercial product like any other but, rather, a heritage which must be protected, defended and treated as such”. Nevertheless, water resources in the EU are under increasing pressure from continuous growth in demand, whilst water quality is under increasing threat due to human activities. The agro-industry sector and agriculture take the lion’s share of responsibility for this situation. In countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece, the two sectors account for more than 70% of total water abstraction. These sectors are characterised by inefficiency due to inadequate water management, as well as a lack of co-ordination. In fact, the quality of water needed for each sector would often allow exchange and reuse between sectors, resulting in more sustainable water management. In Italy, one of the most important concentrations of agro-industry and livestock businesses is found in the Emilia-Romagna region. These have supported the economic development of the region, but have also contributed to problems of water depletion and land subsidence. Objectives The main objective of the AQUA project was to demonstrate that the negative impact of industrial production (specifically the agro-industry sector) on water quality and availability can be significantly reduced through the introduction of a ‘cradle-to-cradle’ (or regenerative) approach to industrial water management in Emilia-Romagna, through the adoption of private-public partnerships. Specifically, the project aimed to improve water efficiency and increase water recycling in the agro-industry sector; introduce, test and diffuse innovative and cost-effective approaches and techniques for reducing water consumption and pollution; increase awareness of the business sector about environmental threats to water scarcity and water quality; and to contribute to achieving the objectives established in the WFD. Results The AQUA project produced an International review of methodologies, best practice and relevant European legislation, and implemented water-saving technologies and best practices in the field of cradle-to-cradle water management. A panel of experts was established (the Water Saving Panel), involving 17 people from a range of research institutions, consultancies and other stakeholders, to elaborate methodology and to support companies in defining targets and strategies to reduce their water use. The project experts noted the high variability in production processes and validated 15 individual Action Plans defining water conservation strategies for different participating companies. These were produced by the companies themselves with the help of a technical support team. Through a series of multiple-stakeholder seminars, a Water Saving Kit was developed for use by companies in the agro-industry sector. The Water Saving Kit provides, for the first time, a significant support to companies interested in water savings initiatives, by allowing them to evaluate their own conformity with the regulations in place and to identify the impacts of each production phase on water consumption. The Kit was designed to be downloadable from the project website. It comprises a series of software tools, for example, for assessing regulatory compliance, self-diagnosing water consumption, suggesting the best technologies and best practices available, and evaluating payback time. The modular tool was initially designed to be applied to each of the main agro-industries production chains in Emilia Romagna: fruit and vegetables, grains, meats, wines and dairies. AQUA launched the Water Alliance, to facilitate the development of public-private partnerships. This was signed by 20 companies, whose active participation enabled the successful testing of the project’s Water Saving Kit. This enabled a thorough evaluation of the Kit to be undertaken. One conclusion was that the Kit should be accompanied by an expert-led problem-solving service. The number of companies joining the Water Alliance is expected to increase after the end of the project, thanks to the initiatives set up by the local stakeholders. The Water Alliance provided a valuable demonstration of private-public partnerships for supporting better water management strategies within commercial facilities, which can be replicated in other regions and countries. The project highlighted the importance of ‘simplicity’ in the structure and content of the partnerships; showed that direct relationships with private entities allowed a clear and effective feedback on the issues relating to the use of water resources; and that such partnerships can reduce water consumption and increase water recycling (with targets of 10% being easily reachable by means of short-term investments of one or two years). The methodology and tools developed during the AQUA project could be transferred and adapted to a range of other industrial sectors. The project evaluated its methodology, in order to support its further development. This took the form of ‘AQUA Guidelines’ that describe the approach, its objectives and operational phases, and the implemented tools, whilst also highlighting areas for attention and possible improvements. To disseminate its activities, the project produced six videos called ‘Best AQUA Stories’, with descriptions of water-saving initiatives undertaken by participating agro-industrial companies. The main environmental issues achievable through the project’s approach are a significant reduction of water use in the industrial sector; the promotion of a system that fosters the reuse of wastewater in productive areas; an increased awareness of environmental issues among private entities; the mitigation of anthropic pressure thanks to a more rational exploitation of natural resources; and support for initiatives to safeguard water quality. The AQUA partnership will continue to cooperate in order to achieve the following goals: Enable businesses to evaluate their own compliance with current legislation on water resources, analyse their own processes, monitor their own water consumption and compare it with the average values in the same sector; Allow companies to learn about technologies, best practices and interventions for saving water and to plan the financial return of the investments; Help businesses in creating an action plan for defining annual objectives for water saving and improving efficiency.A range of socio-economic benefits may arise from the implementation of the project’s technology and best practice, including cost saving for companies thanks to reduced water consumption, and the more sustainable use of environmental resources. The main policy implications are the contribution to helping the Italian government achieve targets set in the EC Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), as well as in the Groundwater Directive (2006/118/EC) and the implementation of the Integrated Product Policy (IPP). Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).