www.aquabench.de

Benchmarking – Learning from the best European benchmarking experiences in the water sector

Filip Bertzbach

Brussels, November 17, 2015

30.11.2015 / Page 2 www.aquabench.de

aquabench - from the industry, for the industry

• Founded by 11 leading German and

Swiss operators with benchmarking

experience since 1996

• More than 800 voluntary participants

• Around 25 continuous benchmarking

projects for the whole water cycle

• Supporting benchmarking in Arab

countries, Belgium, France, Peru, Poland

• Member of

• ISO TC 224 “Water services”

• IWA Specialist Group “Benchmarking

and Performance Assessment”

• EIP Action Group „Benchmarking of

the Future“

• German Technical working groups

30.11.2015 / Page 3 www.aquabench.de

Discussion on benchmarking and transparency in

European water sector

30.11.2015 / Page 4 www.aquabench.de

Are Benchmarking and transparency compatible?

Benchmarking is a management tool

Link does exist already in the sector

Tools need to be combined meaningfully

30.11.2015 / Page 5 www.aquabench.de

Benchmarking in the water sector – a clearly defined

management tool for improvement

DVGW, DWA

20081

IWA

20112

ISO 24523 draft

20153

1DVGW, DWA (2008) (German technical standards), 2Cabrera et al. (2011) (International manual for benchmarking projects) 3ISO-Draft

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Industry based benchmarking initiatives in Europe and

its succes factors

• Clear ownership

• Learning not ranking

• Focus

• Communication

• Confidentiality

Non-exhaustive list of national continuous benchmarking initiatives initiated by industry associations: Austria ÖAWV), Balkan and Ukraine (Water Danube

Initiative), Belgium (Aquaflanders), Denmark (DANVA), France (FNCCR), Germany (various), Netherlands (Rioned, Vewin), Rumania (ARA), Scandinavia (Six-

Cities group), Switzerland (SVGW)… Additionally European Benchmarking Cooperation (EBC) has participants from allmost all European countries.

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Participants who derived

changes of operation Other participants

Ownership - Who takes decisions on results?

Source: Example of Performance indicator in benchmarking sewer operation of aquabench, Germany

Share of

cleaned

sewers

p.a. [%]

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Sustain-

ability

Customer

Relia-

bility

Efficiency

Quality

Learning not ranking - utilities have to

balance different goals

Staff analysis

Cost analysis

Finance of investment

Water losses

Quality of supply

Failures

Catchment protection

Social sustainability

Economic sustainability

Ressource consumption

Quality of service

Customer information

Complaints

Reliability of supply

Resources utilisation

…

Treatment utilisation

…

… …

… Source (adapted): Schulz, Goebel „Balanced Score Card at Emschergenossenschaft / Lippeverband“

Ofwat (2012):,„Regulatory compliance – a proportionate and targeted approach a consultation”, London.

…

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More focus means more actions

Level of detail

Performance

assessment

Performance

improvement

Utility

Function

Process

Task Identifi-

ability of

causes +

actions

Source: IWA 2011 and ISO/DIS 24523 „Guidelines for benchmarking of water utilities” (Draft);

Bertzbach, F., Moeller, K., Nothhaft, S., Waidelich, P., Schulz, A (2012), “15 years of voluntary benchmarking – how it supports the

modernisation strategy of the German water sector“, Water Utility Management International, December 2012

30.11.2015 / Page 10 www.aquabench.de

Communication - benchmarking is more than metrics

Facilitate data collection efforts

(manuals, software, support-desk)

Explain the results in reports,

presentations and workshops

Exchange experiences in

workshops and on-site visits

Find and communicate

solutions (Best practice

databases) Source: Cabrera et al (2008), Performance Assessment of Urban Infrastructure Systems

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Are Benchmarking and transparency compatible?

Benchmarking is a management tool

Link does exist already in the sector

Tools need to be combined meaningfully

30.11.2015 / Page 12 www.aquabench.de

Various communication tools are already linked with

benchmarking initiatives

30.11.2015 / Page 13 www.aquabench.de

Example on European level - Initiative of EEA to publish

set of core indicators (2014)

Source: http://projects.eionet.europa.eu/wise-tg/library/thematic-issues/water-utilities-resource-efficiency/european-water-utility-expert-meeting-13-14.12.2012-copenhagen/

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Example on national level - German “Profil of the water

sector”, Danish “Water in figures”

Source: http://de.dwa.de/profile_of_the_german_water_Sector.html

http://reader.livedition.dk/danva/150//

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Example on regional level – Reports of German Federal

states

Source: https://www.bdew.de/internet.nsf/id/EFA98EDFC327911BC1257A47004B7C62/$file/120726_2_Auflage_BDEW_Wasser_Benchmarking_Broschuere_dt.pdf/

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(New) examples on local level

App of Portugues Regulator (ERSAR)

on key information about water and

waste services in each of the 278

Portuguese mainland municipalities

(since 2014)

Tariff-information sheets used in

Rhineland-Palatine, Germany

(since 2012)

Source: http://www.ersar.pt/website/viewcontent.aspx?name=appERSAR

http://wasser.rlp.de/servlet/is/8646/

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Are Benchmarking and transparency compatible?

Benchmarking is a management tool

Link does exist already in the sector

Tools need to be combined meaningfully

30.11.2015 / Page 18 www.aquabench.de

E.G. Tariffs – Does publishing tariffs on international

level empower citizens?

Source: https://tariffs.ib-net.org/Compare?page=4&offset=30

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Why? On which level? For whom? What information?

Open or confidential?

Source:

http://www.salga.org.za/documents/download/app/webroot/assets/files/Research_Results/MBI2013AnnualReport_final3_6_2014%20(3).pdf

http://www.wasserbenchmarking-rp.de/27.projektmaterialien-dokumente.html

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Local information via internet or tariff bill: Household

size, cost allocation and context information

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Different costs – according to different households

30.11.2015 / Page 22 www.aquabench.de

Cost allocation according to benchmarking data

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Additional information is given in internal „Tariff-

Benchmarking“

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

0,00

1,00

2,00

3,00

4,00

5,00

6,00

7,00

8,00

7016

%

EU

R/m

³

Abgabenbereinigte Umsatzerlöse Öffentliche Abgaben

Erträge Auflösung Ertragszuschüsse Erträge Auflösung Fördermittel und Zuschüsse

Aufwandsdeckungsgrad

Utility

Revenues (without Transfers)

Public Transfer and Subvention

Cost recovery

Public levies

(Private) subsidies

30.11.2015 / Page 24 www.aquabench.de

Participants are proud of such benchmarking activities

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Benchmarking and transparency - possible way forward

Support or participate in industry based benchmarking

Complete picture of existing tools

Combine (existing) tools meaningfully (and define goals of communication)

30.11.2015 / Page 26 www.aquabench.de

International search for best practices - invitation

• Invitation to practice:

• Clear ownership

• Learning not ranking

• Focus

• Communication

• Confidentiality

• Benchmarking Wastewater treatment

plants (start in 2016)