Economist Enterprise Water Summit 2027

The Water Summit, run by Economist Enterprise (part of The Economist Group), is a one-day meeting in London for leaders across the water value chain. Its second edition, themed "Under pressure: making water a boardroom imperative", argues that water strategy can no longer be left to governments and utilities as industrial demand rises, and focuses on managing climate risk, funding infrastructure and cutting water use in operations.

Who attends

Industrial water users from water-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, chemicals, mining, food and drink and technology, alongside utilities, investors and financiers, regulators and government, and technology providers.

Formats

Panels and applied case studies on water resilience, pre-arranged one-to-one meetings, and the invitation-only Water Leaders Club for 100 senior executives focused on water security.

First edition

The first edition (11 February 2026, Convene Liverpool Street) drew 424 attendees from 24 countries and 290 companies, 77% of them above director level, with 70 speakers across 24 sessions. UK Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds spoke there.