Water and Circular Economy
At whatever point in the natural water cycle an organisation is placed, from supply to downstream use, to treatment or distribution, doing a better job of preserving usable water represents valuable efficiency gains and a healthier bottom line. With climate change will inevitably come issues associated with too much (increased risk of flooding) or too little (water shortages and droughts) water. In this context, businesses that can demonstrate great stewardship practices will also in time become more influential. In 2018, the UKWP held an industry workshop at Arup to explore the barriers, enablers and challenges around circular economy initiatives. Using the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s White Paper Water and Circular Economy, the workshop helped to identify a number of next steps including:
• Development of a better understanding of the Circular Water Economy.
• Production of a route map for the UK’s Circular Water Economy.
• Integrating Circular Water Economy within Net Zero, Resilience and Digital work themes.
Circular Economy principles include how an organisation can become a more efficient one and also how organisations can collaborate together on new opportunities to create circular economy value, requiring data, innovative business concepts and new technology.
Building on the principles set out in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation white paper ‘Water and Circular Economy’ (link below), the UK Water Partnership is now setting out to further explore the Circular Water Economy with a focus on turning principles into practice by highlighting the key areas of opportunity, capturing existing solutions and case studies, and articulating the benefits for businesses and wider society in the context of climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Link to ‘Water and Circular Economy’ white paper:
https://www.arup.com/-/media/arup/files/publications/w/water_and_circular_economy_whitepaper.pdf