Where to Next for Australia’s Circular Economy? Aligning Prosperity, Equity, and Planetary Boundaries (03:00 UTC)
Session Organiser: Heinz Schandl
Institution: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)
Location/Local Time: Sydney (2pm - 3pm)
Abstract:
Where to Next for Australia’s Circular Economy? Aligning Prosperity, Equity, and Planetary Boundaries
Australia is embarking on an ambitious transformation to become a carbon-neutral and circular economy. With a legislated net-zero target and the recent release of the national Circular Economy Framework, the country is now seeking to make its economy future-proof by aligning human wellbeing with ecological integrity.
This session will explore the critical insight that the limiting factor for future prosperity is no longer capital or labour, but the availability of natural resources and the capacity of ecosystems to absorb waste and emissions. To secure a thriving future, Australia must operate within its fair share of planetary boundaries, delivering high standards of living while regenerating nature, cutting emissions, and drastically reducing material use and waste.
As Australia transitions, the circular economy is emerging not only as a strategy for resource efficiency but also as a blueprint for systemic change and shaping new ways of designing, producing, and consuming. Yet this transformation must also be fair and inclusive. Circular and low-carbon strategies need to deliver benefits across society, reduce inequality, and ensure that no one is left behind.
This session will examine:
• The national journey towards net-zero and circularity, including policy signals, sectoral shifts, and the role of Australia’s new Circular Economy Framework;
• Transformations in cities, industry, land use, and energy systems that are helping to decouple prosperity from environmental harm;
• The cultural, institutional, and governance shifts required to build a more regenerative, inclusive economy;
• How new data, modelling and decision-support tools are guiding policy, investment and innovation; and
• The challenge, and opportunity, of achieving wellbeing for all within planetary boundaries.
Join us for a forward-looking discussion on where to next for Australia’s circular economy, and how industrial ecology can help shape the pathways to a fairer, more sustainable future.
Facilitator: Heinz Schandl, CSIRO
Speakers for panel discussion: TBC
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