Reports
| Time of scan / report | Area | Report | Summary | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2020 | National | ATSE Towards a Waste Free Future | https://www.atse.org.au/news-and-events/event/towards-a-waste-free-future/ | |
| November 2020 | International | A circular economy for nappies gDiapers / Ellen Macarthur Foundation | https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/business/A-Circular-Economy-for-Nappies.pdf | |
| November 2020 | International | EMF - Circular Economy and COVID | https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/Circular-economy-and-the-Covid-19-recovery.pdf Media: | |
| October 2020 | Australia | State of the States - Commsec | https://www.commsec.com.au/stateofstates Media: | |
| October 2020 | Australia | Transitioning the Water Industry with the Circular Economy - WSAA | Circular Water | https://www.wsaa.asn.au/publication/transitioning-water-industry-circular-economy Media: |
| October 2020 | Australia | Greater Sydney Commission | Place-Based Infrastructure Compact Feat. NSW Circular | https://www.greater.sydney/project/infrastructure |
| May – August 2020 | International | Jobs & Skills in the Circular Economy - State of Play and Future Pathways Circle Economy - March 2020 | Through the lens of the initiative's three core pillars—skilling, quality of jobs and inclusivity—Jobs & Skills in the Circular Economy: State Of Play And Future Pathways provides an overview of how current labour market issues apply to the circular economy transition, the opportunities that circularity presents for the labour market and the challenges that need to be overcome to achieve a future labour market that enables people and the planet to thrive. |
Media: |
| May – August 2020 | International | Baseline Analysis of Circular Jobs (In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly) Circle Economy - June 2020 | To obtain a baseline analysis of employment in the local circular economy in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (CIoS), Tevi and Circle Economy collaborated on the Circular Jobs Monitor. The Circular Jobs Monitor is an online tool that gathers and displays the amount and type of jobs that are part of the circular economy. This report summarises the results that are displayed on the monitor and outlines next steps that can be taken to build on these results and further tap into the opportunities the circular economy presents the local labour market. | https://www.circle-economy.com/insights/baseline-analysis-of-circular-jobs-in-cornwall-the-isles-of-scilly |
| May – August 2020 | International | EU Circular Economy Action Plan - adopted at July 2020 meeting | The COVID-19 crisis has created the conditions for circular products and services to become the norm in Europe, says the EESC. In a recent opinion piece on the new EU Circular Economy Action Plan, the EESC urges lawmakers to ensure the circular economy finds a place and resources in the overall “greenprint” for Europe’s recovery. | https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1583933814386&uri=COM:2020:98:FIN Media: |
| May – August 2020 | International | How energy and resource companies can create value from a circular economy - EY, 2020 | While we see positive progress toward decarbonization and electrification, it is time to fundamentally rethink our entire economy. As the world’s population surges toward a forecast nine billion by 2030, we are using more resources than the planet can provide. Our future depends on reusing what we have in a sustainable way. | https://www.ey.com/en_gl/wef/how-energy-and-resource-companies-can-create-value-from-a-circular-economy |
| May – August 2020 | International | How sustainability is fundamentally changing consumer preferences - Capgemini, July 2020 | Growing concerns about environmental challenges and the need for conservation of natural resources – as well as greater expectations around societal issues – have brought sustainability into the mainstream for consumers and organizations. This extensive research program analyzes the impact of sustainability on consumers’ purchasing patterns and examines how far organizations have come in understanding and meeting their expectations. |
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| May – August 2020 | International | C40 Mayors’ Agenda for a Green and Just Recovery | C40 Mayors launch a Green and Just COVID-19 Recovery Plan and Demand National Governments End Fossil Fuel Subsidies | https://www.c40.org/other/agenda-for-a-green-and-just-recovery Media: |
| May – August 2020 | International | Circular Economy in Cities - Evolving the model for a sustainable future WEF and PwC, ARUP 2018 | More than half the world’s population lives in cities, and this will rise to 70% by 2050. The quality and resource rationality of cities will become an increasingly critical issue. Cities are engines of economic growth, generating approximately 85% of global GDP. They are places where people live, work, innovate, meet and consume considerable amounts of resources. Therefore cities play a pivotal part in the transition to a circular economy. The circular economy decouples economic growth from resource consumption, enabling cities to achieve prosperity while minimizing negative environmental impacts from landfills or incinerating waste. This can create jobs in areas such as high quality recycling and repair practices and logistics. WEF, Arup and PwC collaborate on this ‘state of play’ report. | http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_paper_Circular_Economy_in_Cities_report_2018.pdf |
| May – August 2020 | International | Breaking the Plastic Wave (Study) - Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ | On July 23rd, the Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ released a new study: Breaking the Plastic Wave, which the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) calls "one of the most comprehensive and analytically robust studies ever produced on ocean plastics." According to EMF, the report confirms that the vision of a circular economy for plastic is the only way to address plastic waste and pollution at the source. This is a vision that already unites 850+ organisations through the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and the Plastics Pact network. Contributors to the report included the University of Oxford, University of Leeds, Common Seas, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation | https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/07/23/breaking-the-plastic-wave-top-findings Media: |
| May – August 2020 | National | Infrastructure Australia Priority List - open to 31 August 2020 | There is currently a call for submissions for ‘The Priority List’ which will become a live document (with submissions open any time) hosting submissions from Australia's governments and non-government bodies to submit nationally significant infrastructure problems and opportunities for consideration. |
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| May – August 2020 | National | Building Efficiency for Jobs and Growth Blueprint - Green Building Council of Australia | A green building-led recovery would remobilise the construction and property sectors and deliver on energy-reduction policy objectives. The Building Efficiency for Jobs and Growth blueprint, launched by the Green Building Council of Australia, the Energy Efficiency Council, the Property Council of Australia and the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, outlines 10 recommendations to boost the economy and drive down emissions. | |
| May – August 2020 | International News | Which world do we want after Covid? Euractiv | European Commission vows to build a sustainable, circular economy post COVID-19. | https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/opinion/which-world-do-we-want-after-covid-19/ |
| May – August 2020 | International News | Governor Cuomo Announces Largest Combined Solicitations for Renewable Energy Ever Issued in the U.S. to Combat Climate Change - New York State | Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the largest combined clean energy solicitations ever issued in the U.S., seeking up to 4,000 megawatts of renewable capacity to combat climate change. New York's second offshore wind solicitation seeks up to 2,500 megawatts of projects, the largest in the nation's history, in addition to last year's solicitation which resulted in nearly 1,700 megawatts awarded. The solicitation includes a multi-port strategy and requirement for offshore wind generators to partner with any of the 11 prequalified New York ports to stage, construct, manufacture key components, or coordinate operations and maintenance activities. This solicitation has the potential to bring New York State halfway toward its goal of 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035 and meet Governor Cuomo's nation-leading climate and environment goals under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Funding for port investments will include $400 million in both public and private funding. |
https://www.evwind.es/2020/07/21/governor-cuomo-announces-largest-combined-solicitations-for-renewable-energy-ever-issued-in-the-u-s-to-combat-climate-change/75900 |
| May – August 2020 | International News | Slowing the circular economy | Greenpeace commentary on circular economy, with a call to advocate for ‘slowing’ of the economy alongside circularity | https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/44079/slowing-the-circular-economy/ |
| May – August 2020 | International News | Circular economy is the future (of booze) - Forbes, July 2020 | As the global whisky brand Johnnie Walker and its parent company Diageo plan to run a trial of the new environmentally-friendly packaging from next year, a report from consulting corporation Capgemini on sustainability shows this might be the future consumers want. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/emanuelabarbiroglio/2020/07/25/circular-economy-is-the-future-of-booze/#8e2e2e37cd1f |
| May – August 2020 | International News | What a sustainable circular economy would look like - Circular. (for waste and recovery professionals) | Findings of the RRFW (Resource Recovery From Waste) research programme, which argues there are 3 types of circular economy: | https://www.circularonline.co.uk/research-reports/what-a-sustainable-circular-economy-would-look-like/ https://rrfw.org.uk/2020/01/22/new-special-issue-invites-radical-views-to-spark-a-sustainable-circular-economy/#more-1573 |
| May – August 2020 | International News | Britain’s first major recycling drive fell apart 80 years ago – it’s a warning to UK government today - The Conversation | A “make do and mend” spirit was promoted in a 1940 campaign, and Britain’s first systematic recycling program was immortalised in popular imagination. However, the campaign had to be abandoned, as it was undermined by a separate appeal that overwhelmed the country’s fledgling recycling system and damaged public confidence in collective efforts to manage waste sustainably. |
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/these-are-the-worst-countries-in-the-world-when-it-comes-to-recycling-household-waste-140651684.html |
| May – August 2020 | International News | Why the pandemic could slash the amount of waste we recycle - The Conversation July 2020 | The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the use of plastic medical and protective equipment, such as single-use gloves, masks and aprons. Much of this equipment must be discarded after use to limit the spread of the virus. But demand for plastic packaging has also spiked in the retail sector, as customers wary of catching the virus shun loose products. Elsewhere, people are using antibacterial wipes and bottles of hand sanitiser at a rapid rate, with some worrying that discarded “COVID waste” could soon outnumber jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea. The market for plastic packaging is projected to grow by 5.5% in 2020, causing a surge in the amount of waste being sent for recycling. But just when its services are needed more than ever, the recycling industry has been rocked by crises. |
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/covid-19-coronavirus-why-the-pandemic-could-slash-the-amount-of-plastic-waste-we-recycle/FI7AVOZG7MTWTZOGHKDNEB67FQ/ |
| May – August 2020 | International News | COVID-19 is laying waste to many US recycling programs - The Conversation July 2020 | The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the U.S. recycling industry. Waste sources, quantities and destinations are all in flux, and shutdowns have devastated an industry that was already struggling. | https://theconversation.com/covid-19-is-laying-waste-to-many-us-recycling-programs-139733 https://www.ecowatch.com/nasa-moon-photobombs-earth-for-second-time-in-one-year-1917564798.html |
| May – August 2020 | International News | Recognising waste use potential to achieve a circular economy - Journal of Waste Management, 2020 Summary: Why we’ll still need waste in a circular economy - The Conversation June 2020 | Waste management has historically focused on the protection of human health and the natural environment from the impacts of littering and dispersion of pollutants. An additional and more recent concern is the resource value of waste. This analysis shows that the regulatory concept of waste in the European Union, which comprises environmental principles, the legal definition of waste, legal requirements, and policy implementation, is not fit for addressing this concern. The legal definition of waste overlooks the context of waste, fails to consider the interests of the waste user as opposed to the waste holder, and aims to control the impacts of careless discarding rather than stimulating careful discarding. To address these challenges, we suggest a legal requirement to recognise the potential of waste to be used, operationalised by formulating a waste use potential, which expresses how and how much waste can be used as a resource, given enabling conditions. Recognition of waste use potential highlights local opportunities for reuse and recovery, reduces the likelihood of careless discarding, and reveals the interests of possible waste users to the waste holder. The waste use potential may be employed in the formulation and evaluation of policies for industrial and municipal solid waste in a circular economy. | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X20300192 https://theconversation.com/why-well-still-need-waste-in-a-circular-economy-136470 |
| May – August 2020 | National News | Australian manufacturing has been in terminal decline but coronavirus might revive it - ABC | The widespread shutdown of global supply chains caused by COVID-19 has been good news for manufacturing companies such as Adelaide metal printing company AML3D. | https://amp.abc.net.au/article/12481568 |
| May – August 2020 | National News | New England set for $12.9bn renewables investment | NSW's New England region is expected to attract investment of almost $13 billion in new wind and solar generation and transmission thanks to the state government's plan to develop a massive Renewable Energy Zone in the area, but may raise concerns about lagging investment in "firming" generation. | https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/new-england-set-for-12-9b-renewables-investment-20200709-p55agw |
| May – August 2020 | National News | McCain chips in with renewables at Ballarat plant - AFR, July 14, 2020 | Potato chip producer McCain Foods has started installing 17,000 solar panels on the ground and on the roof of the carpark at its main Australian production plant in Ballarat as part of what is thought to be the country's largest "behind the meter" renewable energy system. | https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/mccain-chips-in-with-renewables-at-ballarat-plant-20200713-p55bgz#:~:text=Potato%20chip%20producer |
| May – August 2020 | National News | Criminal penalties for dodgy recycling exports coming from January - Sydney Morning Herald July 18 2020 | Household recycling will be subject to sweeping national powers in an imminent federal law that threatens companies with levies, product recalls and other penalties if they breach ambitious targets to reduce waste. The draft law imposes criminal penalties including jail terms for those who defy the Morrison government’s bid to halt waste exports in a staged plan that starts within six months. | https://amp-smh-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.smh.com.au/politics/federal/criminal-penalties-for-dodgy-recycling-exports-coming-from-january-20200717-p55d4w.html |
| May – August 2020 | National News | $190m to boost recycling in Australia - AFR July 6, 2020 | $190 million Recycling Modernisation Fund will be launched with the aim of generating $600 million of recycling investment and underpinning a billion-dollar transformation of Australia’s waste and recycling capacity | https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/190m-fund-to-boost-recycling-in-australia-20200705-p55967 |
| May – August 2020 | National News | Australia's recycling crisis: is the government's $190m on new infrastructure worth it? - Guardian 26 July 2020 | Environment groups have welcomed the Coalition’s waste measures but say the use of recycled content must be made compulsory | https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/26/australias-recycling-crisis-is-the-governments-190m-on-new-infrastructure-worth-it |
| May – August 2020 | International News | An inclusive, circular economy, Jevons paradox and a sustainable future- Money Control, July 2020 | Interesting mention of ‘Jevons paradox’ - the idea that increasing efficiency does not necessarily lead to less consumption—it can lead to more. While the consumer feels good about resource savings in one area contributing to the circular economy, it helps them to rationalize using more resources in another. | https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/an-inclusive-circular-economy-jevons-paradox-and-a-sustainable-future-5608591.html |