Day One - Wednesday, 28 February

08:15
Registration and welcome coffee
08:50
Opening remarks from the Chair

Elise Gautier
Group Chief Risk and Sustainability Officer
Sims Limited

Shaping Australia’s future circularity
09:00
Fuelling job creation, economic growth, investment & new opportunities through circular economy transformations
 
  • Pioneering transformative strategies to enable regional communities to foster sustainable and thriving ecosystems
  • Fuelling job creation and economic growth in regional sectors with advanced recycling infrastructure, cultivating local markets for recycled products, and utilising innovative circular economy technologies
  • Maximising opportunities for local investment, behavioural changes and education initiatives by connecting with diverse views from organisations, including local councils, businesses, social enterprises, and industry groups

Paul Murfitt
Director of Regions and Community Action
Sustainability Victoria

09:30
Investing in circularity: funding, capital allocation, and sourcing
 

Jillian Reid
Partner - Sustainable Investment
Mercer

Unlocking circularity with state & local governance
10:00
Strengthening inter-governmental coordination to advance the circular economy
  • Understanding the root causes hindering effective coordination across local, state, and federal levels in the circular economy space
  • Highlighting real-world case studies where governments have effectively collaborated, resulting in significant advancements towards circularity
  • Designing frameworks for ongoing collaboration and learning actionable strategies to establish, maintain, and enhance inter-governmental partnerships for long-term circular economy solutions

George Osborne
Manager - Economic Development
Hume City Council

10:30
Morning Tea and Networking
11:00
Using design, decision making & collaboration to create tailored & impactful circular economy outcomes
  • Achieving circular economy success by appointing specialised roles to spearhead local circular initiatives
  • Using a holistic view of city systems to create efficient circularity redesign strategies that foster collaboration and bridge departmental divides
  • Utilising evidence-based decision-making and the collaborative design of circular strategies to enable successful outcomes

Eloise Lobsey
Program Lead - Circular Economy
Hunter Joint Organisation

11:30
Partner presentation
Circularity in action
11:50
Circular design strategies to optimise resource use, achieve cost efficiencies, and progress towards net-zero goals
  • Developing circular economy solutions for sustainability in construction
  • Underscoring the need for adopting circular economy principles in the construction sector to meet the rising demand for sustainability
  • Implementing strategies to design out waste and ensure visibility over material flows while optimising the recycling and repurposing of construction and demolition waste
  • Engaging early in circular design strategies to significantly reduce your environmental footprint

Andre Gobett
General Manager - Recycling
Boral 

12:20
Lunch and networking
13:20
Circularity in motion – lessons from Winning Group's reverse logistics and sustainability initiatives
  • Discovering how education and take back programs reduce waste, reduce landfill contribution, and promote responsible use of finite resources
  • Understanding international circularity developments and how they impact locally
  • The importance of industry partnerships and collaboration to drive circular outcomes at scale

Alice Kuepper
Head of Sustainable Business and Corporate Social Responsibility
Winning Group

Innovative strategies to reduce & transform waste
13:50
Embedding circular economy practices within operations to create a sustainable and waste-reduced future
  • Examining how Manningham Council has successfully embedded circular economy practices within its operational and community activities
  • Moving past a strategic framework to hands-on, community-driven initiatives
  • Developing innovative waste management practices to empower local enterprises and educate community members

Rachelle Quattrocchi
Director – City Services
Manningham Council

14:10
Unravelling diverse waste streams for a sustainable future
  • Explore the challenges & opportunities from diverse waste categories like e-waste, plastics & hazardous waste
  • Examine cutting-edge technology used to handle, recycle & repurpose complex waste streams
  • Building holistic solutions to integrate multi-faceted waste streams into a single comprehensive management plan

Kylie Douglas
Senior Landfill Engineer
City of Greater Bendigo

14:40
Partner presentation
15:00
Afternoon tea and Networking
Interactive Focused Roundtable Discussions
15:30

Interactive and focused roundtable discussions allow attendees to divide into groups and discuss specialised ideas, gain practical tips, and work through challenges faced by other leaders from across the public and private sectors.

You'll be able to choose three of the below to attend on the day with each roundtable running concurrently over three time slots:

• 1st round:  15:30 – 16:00
• 2nd round: 16:00 – 16:30
• 3rd round:  16:30 – 17:00

Topics to choose from include:

1) Circular business models – building a roadmap for C-suite executives
Discuss how traditional businesses can pivot to circular models without compromising profitability.
Marty Rowell
Vice President
Circular Economy Victoria

2) Customer engagement: educating and selling the circular model
Examine how you can educate both B2B and B2C customers on the importance and benefits of a circular economy.
Ryan Collins
Head of Circular Economy Programs
Planet Ark

3) Measuring your impact: KPIs and metrics for circular success
Discuss what metrics are essential for evaluating the success of circular initiatives and how these can be integrated into existing performance frameworks.
Dr Nicole Garofano
Head of Circular Economy Development
Planet Ark

4) Leveraging technology to ensure a comprehensive approach to achieving zero waste
Investing in digital solutions to improve waste data collection, categorisation, and reporting.
Rik Irons-Mclean
Worldwide Sales Enablement Lead – Sustainability
Microsoft

5) Accelerating the global transition to a circular economy
Discussing the integration of sustainable practices across industries and the role of technology in facilitating this shift.
Bronwyn Voyce
Founder
Civic Futures Lab

6) Joining the dots. Making use of industry organisations to create circular networks.
Does your business have the right engagement and memberships with industry organisations to help solve problems and create opportunities?
Dean Parsons
Sustainability Programmes Manager
Chep

17:00
Closing remarks from the Chair
17:10
Networking drinks
18:30
Event Dinner