opportunity to meet face to face with prospective participants . Site visits were also conducted with several companies pre-Covid . By January 2020 the core contingent of participants for the program was established .
The program had a co-contribution structure whereby business participants paid a participant fee and both councils contributed a cash component to subsidise the program development and delivery costs . Due to COVID-19 restrictions , collaboration could not be undertaken in face to face workshops as had originally been planned , so virtual platforms were adapted to allow for maximum ‘ real-time ’ interaction . The online program was launched in June 2020 . New technologies have since been deployed to encourage business participants to challenge traditional methods of learning and to explore alternative business models . Customised modules , delivered by a team of circular economy specialists , will be completed by December 2020 .
Online modules and weekly virtual discussions , webinars and forums have covered a broad range of topics and applied project work , including :
• An introduction to the Circular Economy
• Assessing Resource Development
• Assessing Process Efficiency
• Assessing and Modifying Behaviour
• Establishing Visions and Benchmarks
• Preparing your business for Success
• Design Thinking
• Establishing and Mapping Innovation Networks
• Financing a Circular Economy Transition
• Constructing a Circular Economy Roadmap .
At the start of the program , Circular Advantage participants were required to have a circumspective look at their own reasons for considering a circular strategy for their company ;
“ Working exclusively with clients internationally our greatest challenge is for them to understand our why ! Through culture / language , many cannot understand why we are so enthusiastic to work with them on improving their systems through education and mentoring . So many are still hooked on the business model of growth and profit over everything else ! There is a different way , and I am excited to further my knowledge in the circular economy to help our existing clients and to be able to pinpoint new opportunities with likeminded people / companies .” Dirk Geleit from Meat Tender .
Reducing environmental impacts , waste and energy use , and improving the overall efficiency of products , will become nonnegotiable in a world where resources are finite , and the climate emergency is pressing . In a linear model , the impact of waste caused by business processes and product disposal , including greenhouse gas emissions grows as the economy grows . The circular economy offers different solutions .
The Circular Advantage program has provided business leaders with a noncompetitive space to learn , share knowledge , and initiate change in their operational practices
Exploring what a reverse logistics process for each business would look like enabled potential innovation in production and encouraged companies to consider increasing recycled material content into their products . However , recycling efforts were not prioritized . By first understanding the waste hierarchy and how it relates to a circular economy strategy , participants were encouraged to construct circular economy systems that could potentially extract maximum value from the resources they currently use . The circular economy is about minimising resource use where possible and extracting the most value from resources , when resources must be used . Product components can be designed for continuous recovery and reutilisation . The aim is to design products and materials with life cycles that are safe for human health and the environment and that can be reused perpetually through biological and technical metabolisms . The Circular Advantage program encouraged companies to create and participate in systems that could collect and recover the value of their materials following use .
“ Working on a new project into retail in Japan where we are trying very hard to use all 100 % recyclable packaging from a packaging company that is making the plastic trays from used plastic water bottles . This will convey a strong story to the consumer …. of re make , re use material and recycle .” Dirk Geleit
During the challenging times of COVID-19 lockdown in Melbourne , business leaders have actively explored a broader range of virtual technologies to work around the restrictions to ‘ business as usual ’ activities . Digital technologies are powerful tools to support the transition to a circular economy by radically increasing virtualisation , dematerialisation , transparency and feedback driven intelligence . An awareness of the increasing part that digitisation is playing in business competitiveness added to participant ’ s knowledge for developing their own company ’ s circular strategies .
“ …. a deeper level of digitisation and investment in a superior customer / user experience journey …. has accelerated our reliance on the digital network . It is profound . Tech led efficiency is no doubt a valuable part of the new paradigm . There is a huge gap across the spectrum and opportunities to harvest by way of redeploying funds , talent and resources to swiftly respond to consumer sentiments .” Rita Kouchayan from Neptune Coatings .
The Circular Advantage program has provided business leaders with a noncompetitive space to learn , share knowledge , and initiate change in their operational practices . To remain competitive today , a circular economy must feature in their strategy . The program has been designed to help businesses examine the way they operate through a strategic lens - their supply chains , manufacturing and production processes , use of resources : materials , energy , water , waste and their workforce .
“… As we continue to scale the business , I am constantly seeking areas to improve by analysing the entire business resource use from time , to people , to materials and equipment …. We are not out to seek perfection but to continue to grow with innovations and cumulative improvements . We rely heavily on teamwork and personal responsibility to ensure our staff produce the quality we are known for . I like the idea of creating an improvement system that would allow all employees to anonymously contribute to perhaps a suggestion board
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL VOL 13 NO 2 2020 23