LEAD CONTRIBUTORS
Ashwin Dhanasekar, Brown & Caldwell | Brad Yager, Schneider Electric | Cyril Murtaugh, Hunter Water | Donna Vinci, Hunter Water | Vasudha Bhogineni, AECOM | Sandy Moskovitz, SWAN Forum
CONTRIBUTORS
Carmen de Miguel, Schneider Electric | Darren Coleman, Anglian Water | Rabindra Khanal , City of Houston | Flavio Eduardo Soares e Silva, AEGEA | Amir Cahn, & Maddy Zimmerman, SWAN Forum
Background
The new, SWAN Carbon Horizon Assessment & Readiness Tool (CHART) is a collaborative initiative developed by the SWAN Energy Efficiency and Decarbonisation Community to help water and wastewater utilities understand, measure, and accelerate their decarbonisation journey through a practical, utility-driven framework.
Developed through global industry collaboration, the tool is built on an initial Decarbonisation Assessment Matrix that captures the key dimensions of carbon maturity across the water sector.
Begin by assessing your current decarbonisation maturity with the first live component of the tool: the Maturity Framework Assessment.
This survey helps utilities evaluate their current level of maturity across core decarbonisation capabilities, providing a structured starting point for understanding progress and identifying gaps.
The Maturity Framework Assessment is the first live component of CHART. Future releases will expand the platform to include the Strategic Business Drivers Assessment and additional integrated assessment modules, providing utilities with a more comprehensive view of organisational readiness for decarbonisation.
The Assessment is designed to provide a clear snapshot of your current maturity and help you:
- Benchmark your current level of maturity
- Identify priority gaps and improvement areas
- Translate the Phase 1 framework into practice
- Lay the foundation for future tool expansion
∼5-7 minutes to complete
Benefits for Utilities
- Understand Your Current State: Pinpoint where your utility stands across the decarbonisation journey using a clear, five-phase framework.
- Get Actionable Insights: Identify priority gaps, quick wins, and high-impact actions tailored to your current maturity level.
- Strengthen Strategic Planning: Support investment decisions and roadmap development aligned to decarbonisation targets.
- Align Across the Organisation: Create a shared direction across leadership, operations, and supply chain to embed decarbonisation into core processes.
- Benchmark and Accelerate Progress: Compare against peers and best practices to fast-track your path toward net zero
Sample Tool Output
Why This Matters
CHART is more than a diagnostic; it’s a practical tool to:
- Accelerate your pathway to net zero with a clear, structured approach
- Understand your current carbon maturity across operations and the value chain
- Align decarbonisation with strategic priorities and organisational goals
- Enable informed, data-driven decisions on investments and resource allocation
CHART Roadmap
CHART is designed as an evolving assessment platform, with additional modules being developed to provide utilities with an increasingly comprehensive view of their decarbonisation readiness.
Module 1: Carbon Maturity Assessment – Available now
Assess your utility’s current decarbonisation maturity across key capabilities using the five-phase maturity framework.
Module 2: Strategic Business Drivers Assessment – Coming soon
Understand the strategic factors influencing your decarbonisation journey, including regulatory, financial, operational, organisational, and technology drivers.
Future Modules: Additional Assessments & Benchmarking
Future releases will expand CHART with additional assessment components and benchmarking capabilities to help utilities compare progress, identify opportunities, and accelerate action.
CHART is a collaborative initiative that will continue evolving with input from the water sector. We’re looking for volunteers to support future module development, participate in beta testing, and share utility perspectives to help ensure CHART remains practical, relevant, and impactful. Get involved in the next phase of CHART!
– Cyril Murtagh, Manager Energy and SCADA at Hunter Water (AU)The strength of this tool lies in its grounding in real utility experience. It enables utilities to take a structured, practical approach to decarbonisation, moving beyond ambition to measurable progress and informed decision-making.
