4 November, AMSTERDAM, NL - The Leading Utilities of the World (LUOW) Network inaugurated two new members during the Integrated Leaders Forum at Amsterdam International Water Week (AIWW) 2021. With the newest inauguration event the LUOW network now includes 56 members in total, all of which represent the gold standard of utility innovation and performance.

The two utilities accepted for LUOW membership were:

• Vitens, The Netherlands (represented by Jelle Hannema, CEO)

• Goulburn Valley Water, Australia (represented by Steve Capewell, Managing Director)

Representatives from the utilities presented their three innovation successes required to join the Leading Utilities of the World.  Both utilities presented innovations in the Stakeholder Engagement category, through online customer service and real time consumption monitoring tools. Speaking about the value of joining the initiative, Vitens’ CEO Jelle Hannema remarked that: ”Becoming part of the LUOW network will be an opportunity for Vitens to gain insights that can be helpful in our journey to contribute to overcome our water related challenges. Topics like climate change, growing & aging population, water quality and cybersecurity are extremely complex that it only can be solved by international networking and collaboration. The willingness to share and gain knowledge is the only way forward to be prepared for the future.”

Another new member inaugurated during AIWW was Goulburn Valley Water. Managing Director, Steve Capewell said, “As a water utility that is proud of its innovative, collaborative and entrepreneurial achievements Goulburn Valley Water is extremely excited to be joining like-minded organisations in the Leading Utilities of the World network. We are really looking forward to sharing our significant innovations and leading practices with others, but also gaining new insights and inspiration to help us deliver new value propositions for our customers as well as drive resilience, sustainability and prosperity within our region into the future.”

The LUOW network will continue holding online networking events with the support of its foundation partner Jacobs, and will next come together live at The Global Water Summit in Madrid, Spain on 16-18 May 2022. The Summit will feature an inauguration ceremony, where five utilities will present their successes in the network’s innovation areas and be accepted for LUOW membership.

Find out more about the Leading Utilities of the World Network and its activities: www.leadingutilities.org.