FOSTERING CIRCULAR BUSINESS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS
Melissa Miller
The Economic Development team at the City of Marion in South Australia are building a solid understanding of circular economy among local businesses .
Through persistence and trial and error , the team are discovering what works best in engaging business , and in particular in traditional manufacturing businesses . At the same time , the team are building foundations for a local circular economy and addressing some of the inherent challenges in the transition from traditional business models .
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT APPROACH One of the key projects for the Economic Development team at the City of Marion is the Revitalisation of the Edwardstown Employment Precinct . The project began in 2018 and forms part of the City of Marion ’ s four-year business plan . Each year a 12-month action plan has been created to revitalise the precinct from an access , amenity and activation point of view .*
As part of this project , the team wanted to encourage interested businesses to consider circular economy approaches .
While the initial approach was to hold a group workshop , it was found that some organisations self selected but did not maintain the enthusiasm for and allocate resources to participating in the planned sessions . This is an all too familiar challenge when working in business engagement , where participants often have many issues competing for their attention .
Undeterred , the team at Marion continued with the initiative and identified an opportunity during their regular business visits in the Edwardstown business precinct . On the lookout for suitable candidates , they found a forward-looking business in Garon Plastics that had an appetite to learn more about circular economy . To support the business ’ journey , the Council provided a series of three oneon-one circular economy workshops , with the aim of identifying circular opportunities for the business .
This latter approach found fertile ground and Garon Plastics is now busy exploring next steps and a series of exciting projects that go well beyond the initial idea of what to do with the small amount of surplus plastic they had identified . Senior personnel are leading circular projects that will have a knock-on effect in the business . Without the initial ‘ kickstarter ’ support of the City of Marion , it is unlikely
VOL 14 NO 3 2021 14 www . edaustralia . com . au