Transitioning to a Circular Economy
We’ve been supporting a regional transition to a low-carbon, circular economy, with a specific focus on water, wastewater and materials being used across the water system.
To help this process, we’ve developed our Circular Economy Roadmap, that outlines a program of work to help us bring our circular economy goals to life. We’ve also created a Circular Economy Planning Toolkit to help other regional water authorities design and implement their own circular economy principles and initiatives.
Find our more about our process and access the resources below
We’re ENVRIO award winners!
We’re proud to have won the 2024 Circular Project award at the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association Australia’s (WMRR) ENVIRO Awards.
We were recognised for our innovative work towards bringing a circular economy to life. In particular, WMRR acknowledged the development of our Circular Economy Roadmap and Planning Toolkit as well as the ongoing collaborative work being undertaken across the region.
Developing a roadmap
As a first step, we wanted to understand our current state of circularity, our broader role in driving a circular economy for our region, and opportunities for alignment with our other programs.
We held a co-design process to build our pathway towards:
- Routinely removing waste and pollution from our operations and systems
- Keeping products, materials and resources in the economy
- Regenerating natural systems through operations
We undertook a phased approach which helped us develop a circular economy roadmap that identifies key projects to achieve our vision.
Activities
- Two-hour workshop with the core design team to decide the project’s intent
Deliverables
- One-page intent document (including design question)
Activities
- Material flows analysis
- Desktop research
- Engagement with internal employees
- Engagement with regional stakeholders
Deliverables
- Material flows assessment
- Current state report
Activities
- Innovation framing workshop with the core design team
- Two co-design workshops to come up with concepts – one with internal employees, and one with internal employees and regional stakeholders
Deliverables
- Two workshop summary reports
- Workshop summary video
Activities
- Prioritisation workshop with the core design team to prioritise concepts
Activities
- Built roadmap and supporting document
- Testing session with the core design team
Deliverables
- Draft roadmap
- Final roadmap and supporting document
We’re continuing to explore opportunities for collaboration within Wannon Water, and across the region, to support our circular economy ambitions. We’ll also provide support for businesses and industry looking to transition to circular economy models, or adopt the circular economy principles, through our regional circular economy hub and network.
Our circular economy roadmap priorities for the next 12 months include:
- Circular economy in business cases – review our project lifecycle and update our decision making tools and templates to include circular economy principles and roll these out.
- Lifecycle mapping project – finalise the case study for this project which seeks to better understand our supply chains and opportunities to support our Social and Sustainable Procurement Strategy. Identify where and how our learnings can be shared to overcome barriers and support systems change.
- Collating and sharing case studies – continue to incorporate circular economy initiatives into existing projects and priorities and write up everyday case studies for our dedicated intranet page to share what we have learnt and spark further ideas and opportunities.
- Regional circular economy hub and network – co-design a community of practice and networking sessions, and collaborate with our regional partners on shared challenges and opportunities.
- Supporting circular economy thinking and intervention in BAU – co-design tools and learning materials to support our organisation through this transformation, including the policy and regulatory changes
Do you need support, want to collaborate, or would like to join our community of practice or network sessions? Then contact our Strategic Services team on 1300 926 666 or email info@wannonwater.com.au.
Take a look at our workshop
Want to develop your own roadmap?
You can use the Circular Economy roadmap toolkit we developed to help guide your own road mapping activities. The toolkit is aimed at facilitators of Circular Economy activities from:
- Water Corporations
- Catchment Management Authorities
- Water Management Organisations
- Any other relevant stakeholder in the wider circular economy and water sector network
View or download a PDF version of the toolkit below or contact us on 1300 926 666 to find out more.
