Katie Thomas

Closing the loop in Peterborough

‘We want to develop a real sharing mentality here,’ says Katie Thomas, who leads an ambitious Circular Economy programme in Peterborough, a fast growing city of 200.000 inhabitants a 100 kilometres north of London. Opportunity Peterborough and Peterborough City Council aims to ensure that Peterborough is operating as a truly circular city by 2050.

After studying her BA (Hons) in Geography with Business at the University of Nottingham, Thomas became interested in how businesses can become more sustainable. Since undertaking an MSc in Sustainability and Business at the University of Leeds, she is working on closing the loop of Peterborough’s economy.

‘With the growing scarcity of raw materials and increasing environmental problems associated with the current linear “take, make, dispose” economic model, we need a new economic model – a circular economy,’ Thomas says. ‘A circular economy aims to disconnect economic growth from resource consumption, creating an economy where resources circulate at their highest value and utility.’

Thomas’ work includes the launch and management of the innovative online sharing economy platform for businesses, Share Peterborough. Working with businesses and non-profit organisations, Thomas has also recently established Peterborough’s ‘Circular City Champions Scheme’ which brings together local organisations with a desire to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste and improve quality of life of the city’s citizens through using circular economy approaches. This aims to catalyse a number of collaborative projects across the city.