The Università Luigi Bocconi organised a conference on behalf of the Milan municipality to analyse Milan's wastewater treatment system as regards sustainability issues, organisational models and future challenges. The conference took place on 4 May 2006. Researchers from around Europe presented five case studies on European experience with wastewater management in urban areas. Ecologic Fellow Nadine Herbke presented the results of the Berlin and Emscher case studies.

This project aimed at realising a comparative evaluation of the development of urban wastewater systems against the  background of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). This evaluation was based on five case studies undertaken as part of the project and discussed at an international conference in Milan on 4 May 2006. An expected result was to gain knowledge on the technological, economic, management and institutional consequences arising from a shift from an approach dominated by point-source emission standards to one focusing on the good ecological standards of water bodies. Ecologic undertook two of the case studies, one being on the Emscher Region and one on Berlin.