Prof. Dr. Sebastian Tonke, Professor of Environmental Economics at the TUM School of Management and the TUM School of Life Sciences, has been awarded the Joachim Herz Prize 2026. The prize recognizes application-oriented, interdisciplinary research with the potential to address pressing societal challenges and is endowed with €500,000.
The prize will support Tonke's research project WETTER (Water Efficiency through Technology, Targeting, and Experimental Research), which explores how digital technologies and behavioral insights can help households use drinking water more sustainably. The project aims to generate insights to support water utilities and policymakers in developing effective, scalable strategies to reduce water consumption and strengthen the resilience of drinking water supplies.
Understanding How Households Can Save Water
In light of climate change, the question of how to conserve water is becoming increasingly important. According to Germany's Federal Statistical Office, around 80 percent of the country's drinking water is consumed by private households and small businesses. At the same time, regional and seasonal water shortages are becoming more frequent, increasing the need for effective approaches to reducing water consumption.
Against this backdrop, WETTER investigates which incentives encourage households to use water more sparingly. The project examines how digital technologies and behavioral insights can support more sustainable water use and seeks to identify which measures are most effective, for which households they work best, and why.
A Large-Scale Field Study
As part of the project, 4,000 households will be equipped with digital water meters over a period of two years. These devices track water consumption in near real time and make usage immediately visible to participants.
The digital meters will be complemented by a smartphone app that provides participants with various prompts, including financial incentives, feedback on their water consumption, and practical water-saving tips. By evaluating the impact of these interventions, the research team aims to determine which measures lead to measurable reductions in water use and how these insights can be translated into effective and scalable strategies for sustainable drinking water management.
Research with Impact Beyond the Water Sector
The findings from WETTER are intended to support water utilities and policymakers in developing evidence-based measures to reduce water consumption and enhance the resilience of drinking water supplies.
Beyond the water sector, the project's insights may also prove valuable for the sustainable management of other resources. As highlighted by the Joachim Herz Foundation, the approaches investigated in WETTER could potentially be applied to areas such as electricity and natural gas consumption, extending the project's impact beyond water conservation.
We congratulate Prof. Dr. Sebastian Tonke on this outstanding achievement and wish him every success in implementing his research project.
