2025 NATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES WINNER
CATALYSING CIRCULAR CHANGE
EMBEDDING CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRINCIPLES THROUGH THE BASS COAST CIRCULAR ECONOMY BUSINESS ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
By Lauren van Strijp
Like many councils across Australia, Bass Coast Shire Council had circular economy on paper before it had it in practice. Council ' s Economic Development Framework, adopted in November 2023, included a clear commitment to " promote and showcase best practice circular economy principles to business and our broader community ". For Bass Coast, a regional local government area in Gippsland, Victoria, with an economy shaped by tourism, agriculture and small business, the challenge was turning that commitment into something practical.
Circular economy is no longer a niche sustainability concept; it is increasingly shaping government policy, investment priorities and expectations across industries. At its core, the circular economy seeks to reduce waste and retain the value of materials, products and resources for as long as possible through reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling. The opportunity was clear, but the approach needed to work for businesses with limited time, varied operations and different levels of understanding about circular economy.
Through Recycling Victoria: A new economy( February 2020), the Victorian Government has set out a 10-year plan to cut waste, increase recycling and reuse, and support the transition to a more resource-efficient economy. This was followed in late 2024, with Bass Coast ' s accelerator already underway, by the release of Australia’ s first National Circular Economy Framework. But policy only takes the transition so far. Circular economy is ultimately realised through the decisions businesses make every day about materials, waste, suppliers, costs, customers and future opportunities. That gap between high-level ambition and onthe-ground practice is where councils can play a genuine role.
The opportunity to test that role came in early 2024, when Sustainability Victoria, in partnership with the Circular Economy Business Innovation Centre, announced its Circular Economy Innovation Fund. For Bass Coast, the fund created a way to translate an existing commitment into something practical: a program that would work directly with businesses to identify where waste could be reduced, materials reused, processes improved and new circular ideas tested. The result was the Circular Economy Business Accelerator Program.
THE PROGRAM Bass Coast Shire Council ' s application secured $ 96,585 in funding. It was one of only seven projects funded across Victoria from almost 100 applications, and the only local government project to receive funding. More importantly, it gave Council the opportunity to move from talking about circular economy to working directly with businesses to explore what it could look like in practice.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL VOL 19 NO 2 2026 15