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This collection features a selection of inspiring examples of the circular economy in the water sector, compiled in the context of the World Bank's Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Initiative, presenting the WICER framework together with global case studies that show the benefits of becoming circular and resilient.

WICER is an initiative by the World Bank's [Water Global Practice](https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/water) to establish a common understanding of the definitions and applications of circular economy and resilience principles in the urban water sector, and to promote the implementation of those principles in our projects and when working with governments and partners around the world

As part of the initiative, the Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Framework has been developed which describes the key actions needed to achieve three main outcomes: 1) deliver resilient and inclusive services, 2) design out waste and pollution, and 3) preserve and regenerate natural systems. As part of the initiative, case studies have also been developed, showcasing best practices around the world, and guidelines and other relevant material have been compiled to help cities accelerate the transition to a circular economy. 

The initiative sets out to demystify the circular economy in water by showing that both high-income and low-income countries can benefit from it. Circular and resilient cities are crucial to achieve the SDGs.

 This initiative is supported by the [Global Water Security & Sanitation Partnership (GWSP)](https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/global-water-security-sanitation-partnership).

To learn more about Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Initiative visit [https://www.worldbank.org/wicer ](https://www.worldbank.org/wicer)

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Water in Circular Economy and Resilience

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Policy case

Impact on the ease of innovation, and facilitating uptake of innovations

Innovation

Reduced green house gas emissions released into the biosphere

Reduce Emissions (SDG13)

Minimise waste through diversion: Instead of sending waste to landfill, it is redirected into other industrial processes for handling, treatment, recycling, recovery, or reuse in various forms. 

Minimise waste through design: At the outset of a process of project, plan and design such that there is zero waste or minimal waste during production, use, and at end of life. 

Minimise Waste (SDG12)

Reduced use and withdrawal of water and rate of recycling and reuse of water

Save Water (SDG6)

Providing water and sewage services, including water collection and distribution, water treatment systems and sewage treatment facilities

Water and Sewage

Utilise waste streams as a source of secondary resources and recover waste for reuse and recycling

Use waste as a resource

Replace freshwater with less impactful alternatives and enact water efficiency measures

Regenerative water

Recover waste energy or generate fuels and energy from waste streams

Energy recovery from waste

Replacing freshwater use with rainwater, fogwater, seawater, etc.

Alternative water use

Enacting measures that optimise water use

Water efficiency

Enacting measures that optimise energy use

Energy efficiency

Using renewable energy like solar, wind, etc. or renewable fuels like biomass, etc.

Renewable energy, fuels

Designing products so they use as little materials, water, energy, etc. as possible during use

Design for resource efficiency

**Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages**

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The pandemic and other ongoing crises are hindering progress in achieving SDG3, exacerbating existing health inequalities and threatening progress toward universal health coverage. 
As a result, 68 million children are known to be un or under-vaccinated as of 2022 from TB and malaria increased. This has been particularly challenging in low- and middle-income countries, where health systems were already under-resourced before the pandemic. 

The goal targets to :
- reduce the global maternal mortality ratio;
- end preventable deaths of newborns and children; 
- end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other communicable diseases; 
- reduce mortality from non-communicable diseases; 
- strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse; 
- halve the number of deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents; 
- ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services; 
- achieve universal health coverage; 
- reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and pollution;
- strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate; 
- support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines;
- substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States;
- strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.

Sources: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal3](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal3)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/health-and-population](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/health-and-population)  



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3. Good health and well-being   

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

**Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all**

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Billions of people still lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, despite improvement in the provision of these basic services. Water scarcity is a growing problem in many parts of the world, and conflicts and climate change are exacerbating the issue. 
Water and sanitation are at the core of sustainable development, and the range of services they provide underpin poverty reduction, economic growth, and environmental sustainability. However, in recent decades overexploitation, pollution, and climate change have led to severe water stress in locales across the world.  
In addition, water pollution is a significant challenge that affects both human health and the environment in many countries. 

Today, 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, and more than 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation. Climate change is exacerbating the situation, with increasing disasters such as floods and droughts. 80 percent of wastewater in the world flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, and 70 percent of the world’s natural wetland extent has been lost, including a significant loss of freshwater species. 

The COVID-19 pandemic poses an additional impediment, impairing access for billions of people to safely manage drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services – services desperately needed to prevent the virus from spreading. 

Boosting infrastructure investment, improving cross-sectoral coordination, and addressing climate change are key to getting SDG6 back on track.

Sources: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/water-and-sanitation](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/water-and-sanitation)



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6. Clean water and sanitation  

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

**Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable**

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The pandemic has caused major shifts in migration patterns, including huge movements of people in and out of urban areas. Furthermore, climate change and conflicts tend to have disproportionate impacts on cities. These factors mean that the world is far from achieving the goal of sustainable cities.  
In many developing countries, slum populations have been growing, putting at risk the target of adequate housing for all by 2030. Since 2015, the number of countries with national disaster risk reduction strategies has more than doubled. 

Cities are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, and social, human and economic development. Urban planning, transport systems, water, sanitation, waste management, disaster risk reduction, access to information, education and capacity-building are all relevant issues to sustainable urban development.

This target entails multiple essential concepts such as disaster risk reduction (DRR) and sustainable transport.

To achieve SDG 11, efforts must focus on strengthening capacities for planning for urban development, improving access to public transportation, and enhancing waste management. 

Sources: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/sustainable-cities-and-human-settlements](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/sustainable-cities-and-human-settlements)


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11. Sustainable cities and communities

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

**Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts**

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The science is clear: our climate is heating rapidly. The average global temperatures have increased by 1.2 degrees Celsius since 1880, particularly in the late 20th century. The concentration of atmospheric CO2, the GHG that contributes more than 2/3 to global warming, is at its highest level ever. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) steadily points out that human activities have warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land, producing widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere. 

Without transformative action starting now and within this decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions deeply and rapidly in all sectors, the 1.5°C target will be at risk and with it the lives of more than 3 billion people. 
According to IPCC, warming beyond 1.5 degrees could have irreversible and irreparable consequences. However, effective and equitable adaptation and mitigation actions can significantly reduce vulnerability and contribute to climate resilience. To limit global warming to well below 2, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels, countries came together to hold themselves accountable under the Paris Agreement. 

Failure to act leads to intensifying heat waves, droughts, flooding, wildfires, sea-level rise, and famines. Emissions should already be decreasing now and will need to be cut almost by half by 2030 - a mere seven years from now. 


To combat climate change and its impacts by 2030, urgent and transformative action is needed to meet the commitments under the Paris Agreement across mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Sources: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal13](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal13)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/climate-action-synergies](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/climate-action-synergies)

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13. Climate action

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Regenerate strategies phase out hazardous or toxic materials and processes and substitute them with regenerative biomass resources. A circular economy aims to mimic natural cycles—by shifting to more regenerative farming practices, for example—while also maximising the share of circular biomass that enters the economy. Regeneration can happen both at the systems level (by designing regenerative processes) as well as at the product level (by switching synthetic to organic fertilisers, for example).

Regenerate

Cycle strategies aim to cycle and reuse materials at their highest value: they maximise the volume of secondary materials re-entering the economy, ultimately minimising the need for virgin material inputs and therefore also narrowing flows. Of course, virgin materials will always be needed to a degree: all materials degrade and can’t be cycled infinitely, use energy, and require blending with virgin materials to maintain strength and functionality.

Cycle

Employ online platforms to connect and improve information sharing between stakeholders

Digital platforms

Engage with the local community where facilities or offices are located

Community collaboration

Designing products that can easily breakdown and degrade in the environment

Design for bio-degradability

Replace energy sources with less impactful alternatives and enact energy efficiency measures

Regenerative energy

Using <a href="https://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals" target="_blank">materials that are not toxic or hazardous</a>.

Non-toxic materials and inputs

Integrate principles of circularity into primary, secondary and tertiary curriculum and conduct workplace trainings

 Education and Curriculum

Account for the systems perspective during the design process, to use the right materials, to design for appropriate lifetime and to design for extended future use

Design for the future

Selling parts of modular products that can be exchanged or replaced

Sale of exchangeable parts

Working together with stakeholders and parties in other unrelated industries to implement circular economy strategies and opportunities

Cross-industry projects, pilots

Converting fossil fuel based operations to electric

Electrification

Collection programmes that process products and parts for reuse or recycling within the same industry

Closed loop collection

Designing to enable multiple uses and lifecycles of a product and its materials

Design for cyclability

Engaging in discussions with government bodies and policymakers to push for regulations that support the circular economy

Advocacy for circular economy policy

Selling high quality, long-lasting products

Sale of durable, long-lasting goods

Designing products of multiple parts that can be easily exchanged

Design for modularity

Employing artificial algorithms and robotics to identify, enable and/or implement circular strategies (eg. effective resource use & logistics planning, circular business models & design)

Advanced robotics, artificial intelligence

Working together with industry peers to engage in business activities or exploratory projects that advance the circular economy

Joint industry ventures, projects, pilots

Connecting products and services into the internet of things to identify, enable and/or implement circular strategies (eg. effective resource use & logistics planning, circular business models & design)

Internet enabled, connected operations

Providing products through sharing between consumers, customers, etc.

Peer to peer sharing

Developing or utilising online platforms to enable circular economy opportunities through information, product or service offering

Online platforms

Transforming waste products into materials and lower value products within other industries

Open loop downcycling

Putting in place purchasing guidelines for procurement departments and evaluating suppliers on circular economy principles

Circular procurement

Providing DIY repair kits or spare part programmes for enabling self-repair

Self-repair, spare part service

Providing upgrade programmes or upgrade services for products or parts of products

Product upgrade

Transforming waste products into materials and lower value products within the same industry

Closed loop downcycling

Engage and guide customers and consumers to ensure circular use of products

Customer / consumer collaboration

Designing products to increase consumer’s emotional attachment and ensure longer use

Design for product attachment, emotional durability

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within the same industry

Closed loop upcycling

Designing to reduce waste during production and use

Design out waste

Allowing customers to alter and modify certain features of the product

Customisation

Facilitate discussions and meetings between internal team members to identify circular opportunities

Dialogue with internal stakeholders

Generating energy from waste through processes such as anaerobic digestion, gasification, incineration, etc.

Generating energy from waste

Use digital, online platforms and technologies that provide insights to track and optimise resource use, strengthen connections between supply chain actors, and enable the implementation of circular models



Incorporate digital technology

While resources are in-use, maintain, repair and upgrade them to maximise their lifetime and give them a second life through take back strategies when applicable

Stretch the lifetime

Industry peers to industry peer collaboration to create joint value and identify synergies

Industry collaboration

Preserving and conserving biological products such as food, forests, etc.

Preservation, conservation

Working together with the community and engaging them in the company operations

Joint product development

Reuse, repurpose, and recycle waste streams within the same industry

Valorise waste streams - closed loop

Providing repair services or maintenance services for products or parts

Product maintenance, repair

Ensure renewable, reusable, non-toxic resources are utilised as materials and energy in an efficient way

Prioritise regenerative resources

Ensure that biological products are properly managed and preserved

Maximise lifetime of biological products

Consider opportunities to create greater value and align incentives that build on the interaction between products and services

Rethink the business model

Developing or utilising online marketplaces to enable the peer-to-peer exchange of products and services

Peer-to-peer online marketplaces

Initiatives with disadvantaged communities, minorities, people distanced from the labour market

Give-back programmes

Processing waste streams into fuels such as biogas, biofuels, pellets, etc.

Processing waste into fuel

Using bio-based materials such as bioplastics, mushroom-based materials, etc.

Alternative bio-based materials and inputs

Engaging in discussions with industry stakeholders to share circular economy best practices and push the industry towards greater circularity

Guidance, dialogue with industry stakeholders

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within other industries

Using open loop recycled materials

Employ technologies to gather and analyse data to provide insights on resource use

Data and insights

Designing products so they produce as little waste as possible during production

Design for minimal waste

Takeback and return of products from customers after end-of-use

Takeback programmes

Recovering and reusing waste heat, gas, etc. for energy

Recovery and reuse of waste energy

Participating in government programmes that support and advance the circular economy

Government programmes

Selling parts of modular products that can be refilled

Sale of refillable parts

Designing products to be reused for the same or different purposes in multiple lifecycles

Design for reuse

Designing products to resist damage and wear, and serve a long and useful life.

Design for physical durability

Transforming waste products, materials for reuse within other industries

Open loop upcycling

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within the same industry

Using closed loop recycled materials

Upgrade, repair, and maintenance while in-use

Maximise lifetime of products in-use

Using <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/specific-interest/critical_sv" target="_blank">materials that are not considered critical</a>.

Non-critical materials and inputs 

Designing products with a single material type to more easily recycle them after use

Design for recycling - mono-materials

Managing and enriching biological products such as soil, land, etc.

Management, enrichment

Working together with customers to jointly create products fit for them

Co-creation

Provide guidance or professional training to educate employees to use circular economy principles

Training on the circular economy

Providing services through a subscription plan with regular payment schemes

Subscription-based services

Designing products that are made to last and to ensure longer use

Design for durability

Installing sensors to gather data from products and services to identify, enable and/or implement circular strategies (eg. effective resource use & logistics planning, circular business models & design)

Sensors, monitoring systems

Key elements of the circular economy

ABOUT THE WICER TOOL:The World Bank has developed the&nbsp;<a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/36254" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Framework</a>&nbsp;to guide practitioners achieve three main outcomes: 1) deliver resilient and inclusive services, 2) design out waste and pollution, and 3) preserve and regenerate natural systems. The purpose of this WICER quick assessment tool is to familiarize the user with the WICER concept, help assess if the project, system or city is WICER and finally present solutions, guidelines and resources to become circular and resilience while achieving economic and financial benefits.CHECK THE TOOL HERE: <a href="https://www.wicer-tool.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.wicer-tool.com/ </a>