Orbiaâs Wavin Q&A: Urban Decarbonisation and Water Security
Orbia is accelerating its sustainability ambitions as it works to build low-carbon, water resilient communities through its Building and Infrastructure business Wavin.
The company, which pulls in US$7.5bn in revenue and employs around 23,000 people, is strengthening its focus on circularity, decarbonisation and climate adaptation across global markets.
Leading this work are two senior figures committed to shaping Orbiaâs strategic direction.
As Director of Global Sustainability for Wavin, Jan Van Rompay drives a huge variety of initiatives spanning decarbonisation, circular economy, water replenishment and community engagement.
Alongside him is Senior Director for Global Business & Urban Climate Resilience, Larissa Lindström, who leads efforts to scale climate resilient water solutions and deliver strong business performance.
Together, Jan and Larissa are guiding Wavinâs support for customers transitioning to low-carbon, water resilient infrastructure.
This includes embedding circularity across product lifecycles, lowering manufacturing emissions and developing next-generation water management systems.
Jan and Larissa share their sustainability perspectives with Sustainability Magazine.
What is urban climate resilience?
Larissa: Urban Climate Resilience equips cities to adapt to the growing impacts of climate change, such as extreme rainfall, heat stress and water scarcity, while safeguarding biodiversity and improving quality of life.
At its core, it rethinks rainwater as a resource rather than a risk.
It combines smart solutions with circular design thinking to prevent droughts, reduce heat stress, improve biodiversity, protect against floods and harvest rainwater â what we call the âMagic 5â resilience initiatives.
By doing so, cities can build infrastructure that mimics natural ecosystems and supports long-term sustainability.
How is Orbia providing urban climate resilience solutions?
Larissa: Orbia Wavin delivers a suite of solutions that enable cities to manage water intelligently and sustainably.
For example, our smart blue-green roofs capture rainwater and release it to nearby plants or route it to storage tanks for reuse within buildings.
This reduces sewer overload during heavy rainfall and saves potable water.
Our AquaCell 400 underground storage system helps cities store rainwater for irrigation or controlled release, as seen in our London rain garden project, which provides five weeks of irrigation during dry spells.
We also offer TreeTank systems to protect tree roots and prevent infrastructure damage and Certaro treatment solutions that filter pollutants from runoff, turning rainwater into a valuable resource.
All these solutions are manufactured with low-carbon or recycled materials, and many have biobased versions, supported by Environmental Product Declarations for full transparency.
What is water neutrality and why is it important?
Larissa: Water neutrality means balancing water use with what nature can sustainably provide, ensuring that urban development does not increase pressure on local water resources.
This is critical as climate change and population growth intensify water scarcity.
Achieving water neutrality involves reducing consumption, harvesting rainwater and reusing water wherever possible.
For cities, this translates into infrastructure that closes the water loop, capturing, cleaning, storing and reusing water, so that every drop counts.
Itâs not just about conservation; itâs about resilience, reducing dependency on external water sources and ensuring long-term water security for communities.
Jan: One example of a project is our collaboration with Microsoft and SANASA in Campinas, Brazil.
The project initiated by Microsoft uses the Orbia Water Network Management platform for SANASA, the local water utility, to detect leaks, reduce water losses and optimize network performance in a region that has faced seven droughts in the past decade.
How can cities build a more resilient, sustainable future?
Larissa: Urban Climate Resilience equips cities to adapt to climate extremes while enhancing livability and biodiversity.
It reframes rainwater as a resource and applies smart, circular design to mitigate droughts, heat stress and flooding.
Solutions like blue-green roofs, underground storage systems and green-supporting infrastructure, such as rain gardens and tree-root protection systems, enable cities to stay green and reuse rainwater effectively.
By combining innovation with inclusive planning, cities can turn climate risks into opportunities and build long-term resilience.
Jan: Sustainability in urban infrastructure is about embedding circularity, whenever possible, into every stage, from material sourcing to water reuse,and reducing carbon footprints through low-impact solutions.
Cities can lead the way by adopting innovations with low carbon impact.
But when public and private sectors collaborate, sustainability becomes a shared missionâone that secures environmental health and urban vitality for generations to come.
What areas within this space are ripe for innovation and how is Orbia planning to address these challenges?
Jan: Smart (intelligent) and data-driven solutions will help cities to become more resilient and make better decisions.
As an example, we have developed active attenuation solutions that are controlled intelligently with weather forecast and sensor data.
Another example is digitalising our Environmental Product Declarations, supporting designers and architects to calculate the carbon footprint of the project and select low-carbon products in the design process.
