Why Watersmart was recognised as a Market Mover
Watersmart has been named a finalist in the Market Mover category of the 2026 Sustainable Business Awards, delivered by the Sustainable Business Network.
The award recognises organisations using their commercial influence to help move customers, partners, suppliers or entire sectors towards more sustainable practices.
While the award deliberations continue, we wanted to share some of the thinking and impact behind our submission, and what being a market mover means to Watersmart.
Moving ahead of market demand
New technology alone does not create market change. Sustainable solutions must also be understood, trusted and made practical for the people responsible for designing, approving and delivering infrastructure.
As we explained in our submission:
“Since its inception, Watersmart has operated with a clear belief: New Zealand’s water challenges will not be solved by incremental improvements to conventional infrastructure. They require new thinking, proven alternatives and the confidence to adopt them.”
This belief has shaped Watersmart’s approach to identifying and introducing new water technologies.
“Our strategy is to deliberately move ahead of market demand. We identify proven water innovations, adapt them for New Zealand conditions, invest early, and accelerate adoption through demonstration, education and practical implementation. In doing so, we reduce the perceived risk of innovation for councils, engineers, developers, communities and asset owners.”
The goal is not simply to introduce something new. It is to help sustainable solutions progress from unfamiliar ideas into practical project decisions.
More than supplying products
Across stormwater, drinking water, water reuse and permeable infrastructure, Watersmart has worked to demonstrate how different approaches can respond to New Zealand’s changing water challenges.
Our submission described how this has evolved:
“AquaComb® challenged traditional stormwater management by creating a New Zealand-made attenuation and storage system that delivers practical value for developers, councils and homeowners. WaterSAFE™ was developed in response to drinking water reforms, giving rural schools, marae and remote communities a simpler pathway to safe, compliant drinking water. Hydraloop has helped introduce greywater recycling into local projects, while Porous Lane supports sponge city design through permeable infrastructure and resource recovery.”
However, providing the technology is only one part of creating change.
“Our commercial influence comes from more than supplying products. We help shift how water infrastructure is designed, specified and implemented. By supporting consultants, councils, developers and communities with technical knowledge and real-world examples, we help sustainable water solutions move from niche ideas into practical project decisions.”
Creating new pathways for adoption
Moving a market often means working through the technical and regulatory barriers that prevent a better solution from being adopted.
FenceTank® is one example of that process. Conventional rainwater tanks can be difficult to accommodate within increasingly space-constrained developments, creating the need for a different approach.
As outlined in the submission:
“Recognising that conventional rainwater tanks limited uptake in increasingly space-constrained developments, we designed a world-first boundary-mounted system. Existing regulations did not accommodate the concept, requiring years of technical validation and engagement before approval was achieved.”
The work created an outcome that extended beyond the development of a new product:
“The result was more than a new product—it created a new pathway for rainwater harvesting and showed that evidence-based innovation can influence regulation and accelerate market adoption.”
Since its approval, more than 452 FenceTank® systems have been installed across New Zealand, providing almost 500,000 litres of rainwater storage and enabling rainwater harvesting where conventional tanks were not feasible.
Investing in proof, not just products
The perceived risk of using an unfamiliar solution can be one of the greatest barriers to innovation.
Watersmart helps address this by working alongside project stakeholders, supporting implementation and developing the practical evidence needed to inform future decisions.
This can be seen in our work exploring greywater recycling as a response to wastewater constraints in new housing developments:
“Rather than waiting for network upgrades or accepting these constraints, Watersmart brought together developers, engineers, Waikato District Council and Hamilton City Council to develop a different solution.”
Two pilot developments are integrating centrally managed Hydraloop greywater recycling systems designed to reduce wastewater discharge while enabling additional homes to proceed.
“We work alongside stakeholders to design the solution, integrate it into the development, establish monitoring programmes and generate the evidence needed for future planning and consenting decisions. By investing in proof—not just products—we help remove the uncertainty that often prevents innovation from being adopted.”
The value of this work extends beyond the individual developments. The project learnings have the potential to give other councils, developers and engineers greater confidence to consider water reuse when facing similar infrastructure constraints.
Demonstrating what is possible
In 2025, Watersmart opened the Water Innovation Hub in central Auckland. The Hub brings together rainwater harvesting, WaterSAFE™ treatment, Hydraloop greywater recycling and water-sensitive design within a functioning workplace.
“Operating independently of the municipal water supply, it gives regulators, engineers, councils, developers and community leaders direct experience of what resilient, circular water systems can look like in practice.”
The Hub provides a place where people from across the industry can experience new approaches, ask questions and consider how different water systems could be applied within their own projects.
It also creates opportunities to bring together people who may not ordinarily be part of the same water conversation.
“We believe meaningful change happens when the right people are in the room, so we have deliberately built relationships well beyond our traditional industry.”
Through industry events, technical discussions and visits to the Hub, Watersmart is helping connect engineers, architects, developers, councils, regulators, community leaders, insurers, financial institutions and other organisations with an interest in long-term resilience.
Impact across the water cycle
The outcomes presented in Watersmart’s submission demonstrate the scale and breadth of this work:
3.2 billion litres of stormwater managed through AquaComb® systems since 2018
More than 3,000 developments incorporating Watersmart water-resilience technologies
More than 1,500 tyres diverted from landfill through Porous Lane projects
Safe drinking-water outcomes supported at 16 community sites through WaterSAFE™, including four marae, seven schools and five community facilities
A 100% reduction in potable-water demand achieved across selected projects
These results cover stormwater management, drinking-water safety, water reuse, resource recovery and community resilience. Together, they reflect Watersmart’s move towards considering water as a connected system rather than a series of separate infrastructure challenges.
Changing how New Zealand thinks about water
New Zealand has traditionally managed drinking water, stormwater, wastewater and flood resilience as separate challenges. Climate change, urban growth and increasing regulatory expectations require a more connected response.
Our submission summarised the wider change we want to help create:
“Our work matters because it goes beyond supplying products. We challenge outdated practices, help shape specifications, work alongside regulators, councils and industry, and create confidence in new approaches through demonstration and education.”
Whether supporting rural communities with safe drinking water, enabling water reuse, transforming waste tyres into permeable infrastructure or helping organisations invest in proactive flood resilience, the objective is consistent: create practical solutions that improve outcomes for people and the environment.
“The systemic change we seek is one where water is no longer viewed as a problem to dispose of, but as a valuable resource to be managed throughout its lifecycle.”
Being named a Market Mover finalist recognises the progress already being made, as well as the work still ahead.
“Our influence is measured not only by the technologies we supply, but by the confidence we create. By investing early, proving concepts and supporting adoption, Watersmart is helping reshape how Aotearoa manages water.”
We are proud to be recognised alongside other organisations helping move Aotearoa towards a more resilient, sustainable and innovative future.