WRS

What WRS does

WRS AB is a privately held Swedish environmental consulting firm founded in 1998 and headquartered in Uppsala, with a second office in Malmö. The company provides advisory, planning, concept design, and detailed engineering services for water and wastewater management, with documented specialisation in nature-based treatment solutions including constructed wetlands (våtmarker), surface infiltration systems, pulskärr (pulse marshes), and biological treatment technologies applied to municipal wastewater, stormwater, leachate, and natural water bodies. It serves Swedish municipalities, county administrative boards (länsstyrelser), state-owned entities, research institutions, private landowners, and international development organisations across Sweden, Åland, and selected projects in Africa and Europe.

The firm's core intellectual property centres on the Öppen VA-planering (Open Wastewater Planning) methodology — developed since the early 1990s for selecting wastewater solutions by aligning stakeholder criteria before specifying technical solutions — alongside an extensive library of SVU reports, peer-reviewed publications, and conference contributions. WRS co-owns VA-guiden AB, the national knowledge platform driving industry guidelines for small sewage, stormwater, and VA planning in Sweden, and runs approximately 20 educational and training sessions per year directed at municipal officials, university students, and industry organisations. The team includes doctoral-level specialists in ecology, agronomy, environmental chemistry, and ecosystem engineering.

WRS generates revenue through professional services engagements — project-based consulting contracts for advisory, planning, design, and project management — with Swedish municipalities as the primary customer segment, supplemented by international development projects funded through Svenskt Vatten, Naturvårdsverket, EU, Global Water Partnership, and Exportrådet. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. In 2024 the company discontinued its wholly-owned product subsidiary Mullfilterbolaget Sverige AB (BDT wastewater systems for summer properties), explicitly refocusing on consulting services.

Name

WRS

Legal name

WRS AB

Website

https://wrs.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WRS AB is a privately held Swedish environmental consulting firm specialising in nature-based water, wastewater, and stormwater management, serving municipalities, county boards, and private clients with advisory, planning, and design services across Sweden and selected international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Water and Wastewater Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Stormwater Compliance (BPAHAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

NRW Data Management & Water Balance (IWA Methodology, GIS/SCADA Integration, Digital Twins) (EUANAKAJ)

Keywords

• Environmental consulting services
• Wastewater management consulting
• Stormwater management solutions
• Constructed wetland design
• Water resources advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Uppsala

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: WRS provides consulting services for environmental consulting including advisory, planning, design, and project management for wastewater, stormwater, natural water, and leachate management. Projects range from analysis and concept stages through to commissioning of completed facilities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WRS is a Swedish environmental consulting firm providing advisory, planning, design, and project management services for wastewater, stormwater, leachate, and natural water management. The firm specialises in nature-based treatment solutions including constructed wetlands, infiltration systems, and biological treatment technologies, serving municipalities, government agencies, and private organisations across Sweden and internationally.

Product overview

WRS is a Swedish environmental consulting company offering specialized advisory services in water and wastewater management. The company operates as a consulting firm rather than a software product company, providing expert services in areas including stormwater (dagvatten), leachate (lakvatten), extreme rainfall (skyfall), wastewater (spillvatten), constructed wetlands for purification, and water supply. The company also maintains ownership stakes in related ventures: VA-guiden AB (a knowledge platform for small sewage, stormwater, and VA planning) and previously operated Mullfilterbolaget Sverige AB (now dissolved). WRS delivers consulting services spanning advisory work, planning, idea generation, and detailed engineering design for environmental water solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Constructed Wetland Solutions (Våtmarker)

Quantifiable outcome

• Phosphorus levels in Glasbergasjön reduced from 69 µg/l (2000) to 31 µg/l (2017) through implemented measures
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• VA-guiden ABcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008WRS co-owns VA-guiden AB together with Ecoloop and Bild & Kultur AB. VA-guiden drives the national knowledge platforms små avlopp, dagvatten, and VA-planering, as well as the VAK (Vatten Avlopp Kretslopp) conference. Originally launched as avloppsguiden.se in 2004 by WRS, Ecoloop and Bild & Kultur, it became a standalone company in 2008. The platform serves as a central hub for knowledge exchange within Sweden's water and sanitation sector.
• EcoloopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcoloop (formerly Verna Ekologi och Miljökonsult AB) is a long-standing close partner of WRS, co-founding both SwedEnviro Consulting Group (1998) and VA-guiden AB. The two companies collaborate on research projects, client engagements, and industry knowledge platforms.
• EkolagencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEkolagen is a close partner of WRS, originally co-founding SwedEnviro Consulting Group in 1998. Jonas Christensen from Ekolagen serves as a near-cooperation partner for WRS on environmental law matters, particularly stormwater legislation and sewage planning.
• VAPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVAP (Vatten- och Avloppsplanering) is a long-established partner of WRS. Kåre Lagerquist from VAP works with WRS on investigation and planning of water and sewage facilities. The companies collaborate on various municipal water management projects.
• ArtesiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtesia is listed as one of WRS's established collaboration partners in the Swedish water industry.
• AkvaNovumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAkvaNovum is listed as one of WRS's established collaboration partners in the Swedish water industry.
• SwedEnviro Consulting Group (historical)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwedEnviro Consulting Group was founded in 1998 by WRS, Vattenresurs AB, Verna Ekologi och Miljökonsult AB (Ecoloop), and Palm Enviro. The formal network was dissolved in the early 2010s but informal collaboration continues. The founding companies share expertise in environmental consulting and sustainable water management.
• Bild & Kultur ABcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBild & Kultur AB co-owns VA-guiden AB with WRS and Ecoloop. The company provides communication and cultural services as part of the VA-guiden knowledge platform collaboration.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NIRAS: Nordic engineering consultancy with a water and environment division active in Sweden and internationally. Overlaps with WRS in municipal water/wastewater consulting and EU-funded international development projects.
• Ramboll: Global engineering consultancy with a strong Nordic water and environment practice. Competes with WRS for municipal water and wastewater consulting assignments across Sweden, Denmark, and internationally, though Ramboll's broader portfolio spans buildings, transport, and energy.
• WSP: Global engineering professional services firm with a sizable Swedish water and environment team. Directly competes with WRS for municipal water, wastewater, and stormwater mandates, with WSP's scale and global reach contrasting with WRS's specialist nature-based focus.
• AFRY (formerly ÅF): Major Swedish-origin engineering and design consultancy with significant water and environment practice. Competes with WRS on municipal VA planning, wastewater treatment upgrades, and stormwater management across the Nordics.
• COWI: Danish-headquartered engineering consultancy active in Sweden with water, environment, and climate adaptation capabilities. Overlaps with WRS in wastewater and stormwater consulting, often competing for the same Nordic municipal clients.
• Sweco: Largest Nordic engineering consultancy with deep water, environment, and infrastructure practices serving Swedish municipalities. Overlaps with WRS in stormwater planning, wastewater treatment design, and water resource management, but operates as a full-service multi-thousand-person firm with WRS's nature-based niche as a small subpractice.

Direct peers

• Ecoloop: Long-standing Swedish environmental consulting partner of WRS (formerly Verna Ekologi och Miljökonsult), co-founded SwedEnviro in 1998 and co-owns VA-guiden AB. Highly comparable in size, focus on nature-based water solutions, and municipal client base.
• Tyréns: Swedish engineering consultancy with strong water, environment, and infrastructure practices. Directly competes with WRS for municipal stormwater, wastewater, and urban water planning work in Sweden.
• Ekolagen: Close Swedish environmental law and water consultancy partner of WRS, co-founded SwedEnviro in 1998. Comparable in scale and tightly overlapping with WRS on stormwater legislation, sewage planning, and municipal VA work.

Regional players

• SwedEnviro Consulting Group: Historical network founded in 1998 by WRS, Ecoloop, Vattenresurs, and Palm Enviro; formally dissolved in the early 2010s though informal collaboration continues. Provides useful context for WRS's deepest peer network, even though it is no longer a formal operating entity.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wrs-ab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WRS