Circular economy implementation in the urban water sector

Our project aimed to develop and apply a circular economy assessment methodology to Anglian Water’s Shop Window initiative in Newmarket (“Shop Window”), where innovation is being driven across the entire man-made water cycle.

The circularity assessment we developed provided a quantitative measure of the circularity performance and helped determine the most sustainable, low-cost and low environmental footprint solutions for maximising the quality and sustainability of the water services. Our circularity analysis evaluated the potential to retain and valorise the water-related energy, nutrient and material value among the whole water supply chain, minimised waste flows and revealed the key intersections with the different interrelated supply chains. That, in turn, revealed the wider benefits of achieving the project’s aspirational goals and supported the decision making process.

The assessment was based on existing frameworks of material flow analysis, life cycle assessment and life cycle costing and this way took into account the material, environmental and economic dimensions and identify customers’ and stakeholders’ roles to foster the circular economy transition.

On completion of the project, Anglian Water was able to communicate the results, enhance the visibility of the project and promote the Shop Window’s circularity model as a pioneer for circular economy implementation in the urban water sector.

The 4 Phases of the project are summarized as follows:

• Phase A: Shop Window’s baseline circularity assessment and methodology development
• Phase B: Preliminary assessment and ranking of Shop Window technologies and practices
• Phase C: Technology circularity assessment and scenario analysis
• Phase D: Development of an assessment tool

View a video about the Innovation Shop Window below, produced by Anglian Water.