ISL led a transformative project to deliver a “symbiosis blueprint” setting out how any water company could approach symbiosis, find easy wins and avoid common pitfalls. Piloting this approach with 2 Water and Sewerage Companies (WASCs) identified substantial potential for cost and carbon savings, and delivered over £250k savings.

For United Utilities, a potential for £15M annual savings across Capital Delivery were identified (corresponding to 1.4% of total AMP7 budget) and over £250,000 cost savings and associated carbon were realised through facilitation.

For Severn Trent Water, over £1M cost saving potential on disposal and virgin material procurement was identified for 135,000 tonnes of material and associated 12,337 tonnes CO2e potential reduction. Opportunities are progressing which would deliver £365,000 cost savings.

With the aim of providing the best service to customers at the lowest sustainable cost and the increasing emphasis on circular economy, the utility sector must find innovative ways to close resource loops wherever possible, minimising the cost and carbon impacts of mobilised resources. Many virgin resources can be substituted by alternative, recycled or recovered materials; and many qualified reuse solutions are known for wastes generated, either within the utility sector or elsewhere. The approach improves resource efficiency within WASCs that in turn leads to enhanced operating margins and environment benefits from reduced waste and lower embodied carbon emissions (including Scope 3). Both substitutions and the reuse of waste need to meet technical, economic and regulatory requirements.

International Synergies secured OFWAT funding to explore innovative ways to re-use water industry wastes and by-products as inputs into other processes through industrial symbiosis. The project was led by United Utilities and supported by Severn Trent Water, Welsh Water, International Synergies Ltd and Jacobs. International Synergies’ resource efficiency experts worked with United Utilities employees and their supply chain to identify potential savings available through an industrial symbiosis approach for capital delivery projects.

Working across divisions (operations, capital delivery, procurement, carbon management, waste and environment) and capital delivery supply chains, ISL identified and collated relevant data using its bespoke SYNERGie® software to estimate resource reuse potential and facilitated specific opportunities to completion. The following potential was identified to divert material otherwise destined for landfill, reduce virgin material purchases and reduce embodied carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, evidencing the importance of the industrial symbiosis approach to an innovative and collaborative water sector.

• £13.5 million cost saving per annum through lower material purchase outlay
• £1.2 million cost saving per annum through lower landfill material diversion
• 57,500 tCO2e embodied carbon emission reduction per annum through averted virgin material usage
• 82 tCO2e embodied carbon emission reduction per annum through landfill material diversion

One replicable synergy identified unused resources (including rigid drain duct, Haras fence panels and PCC manhole rings) that were transferred for use at another project, resulted in a savings (avoided cost of purchase) of £22,796, 97 tonnes of CO2 avoided and 30 tonnes avoided landfill.

A further synergy planned to transfer concrete between sites was abandoned when the concrete processor agreed to pay £50 per tonne to the CDP if they could keep the resource and sell it on themselves. The potential reuse resulted in an income of £50,000 in addition to savings from avoided processing and transport costs.

While United Utilities continues to work to integrate this systems thinking into business processes, ISL replicated activities with Severn Trent Water, progressing opportunities that could eventually deliver £500,000 cost savings and associated carbon savings. Data visibility via a shared resource database enables site managers to choose reuse over disposal, keeping materials in productive use thus reducing carbon, cost and waste.

The water sector regards circular economy thinking as a key enabler to achieving economic, social and environmental value. Previous work in this area by UU has included the creation of a Roadmap for Circular Economy and inclusion in the company’ Environmental Policy Statement. Industrial symbiosis approach is aligned to Severn Trent’s Sustainability Strategy: “Thinking about waste as just a resource in the wrong place opens up a world of opportunity.”

UU plans for Net Zero Carbon by 2030 in support of Water UK’s Net Zero 2030 Routemap (2020) and has set ambitions and targets to reduce emissions from construction services suppliers and other scope 3 emissions. UU has also embarked on a programme to determine carbon decision making approaches across UU business as an illustration for the wider water sector.

Adopting IS approaches will support wider Net Zero Carbon ambitions in several ways including providing opportunities to reduce Scope 3 emissions and an evidence base of quantified impacts.