Conserving and Creating Resources
An essential part of implementing the approach is a method to quantify the value of the information provided. For example, if a general citizen provided information that led to the elimination of a water pipe leak, he or she likely succeeded in helping save water that would have otherwise been lost. In other words, making this water now accessible can be considered the equivalent to the act of producing water. Therefore, the value of the information is derived from its ability to conserve and create resources, such as water.
Representation in this manner is a powerful method to conserve resources, maintain infrastructure and realize savings. For example, water that does not reach the consumer from the water supply station due to reasons such as leaks in distribution pipes is usually referred to as “nonrevenue water”. The amount of “non-revenue water” in Japan is equivalent to 1.6 billion USD per year — a significant amount of potential savings. Nonrevenue water is a widespread issue across several countries, including European and other Asian countries. But we can achieve much more if we understand and represent resource savings as the equivalent of resource creation.
Based on this method of quantifying the value of saved water resources, participants can earn tokens for their data contribution efforts. Part of the process for calculating the amount earned will involve using algorithms produced by third-party developers designed to predict factors such as the deterioration state of water pipes. For example, Fracta, with whom the WEF is partnered, has demonstrated the environmental database’s utility by developing state-of-the-art machine learning to predict water pipe deterioration states. By learning detailed environmental factors captured within the database, the model has allowed providers to accurately anticipate which water pipes have the highest risk of failure. This has permitted providers to successfully take preventative measures to address infrastructure problems before damaging bursts occur, fix invisible leaks, and save water. Algorithms like these are expected to evolve and become more advanced in the future, achieving improved performance. Simultaneously, the size, amount of details, and features of the database will continue to grow due to crowdsourced data collection efforts.
Future service providers and partnering organizations that wish to collaborate on projects with the Foundation, or utilize the Foundations network and tools (e.g., database) can purchase WEC’s as a subscription fee for maintaining a partnership. As the project develops, we plan to form strategic partnerships with various organizations and create new ways to utilize the WEC token within the ecosystem. The Foundation is also actively looking at creating avenues to use these tokens for goods and services.
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