The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) is pleased to announce the return of its national circular economy (CE) conference, ENVIRO, at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition on the 26-27 June 2024.  

With only 5.4% of materials across the country currently being circular, it is vital that all areas of industry, the community and government come together and play their part in transitioning Australia to a circular economy.  We must be proactive at a local, state, and national level to ensure that the life and value of materials are maximised and carbon is minimised.  It is time to challenge the status quo and talk openly about the need for responsible production and consumption – what does this look like in Australia and how do we accelerate action as we face real climate risk.

How we view and treat resources is key to this transition. To make real progress, we must deliver a fundamental shift across society to reduce the demand for raw materials, think differently about design, and encourage reuse and repair through responsible production and consumption. 

The 2024 ENVIRO Conference will explore and discuss the systems thinking required to deliver this shift, and we invite you to get involved. The committee is now calling for abstracts under the following topics:

International Insights

  • Systems thinking in practice
  • Learnings from overseas – what’s worked and what hasn’t?
  • Programs that could translate in Australia
  • Intelligent regulatory instruments and directives

Policy & Regulation

  • What’s already available and how to use it
  • Policy levers that drive circularity
  • What is the regulatory framework required to create a circular economy across industries, sectors, and communities?
  • Driving change at the Federal level to achieve national outcomes
  • Government procurement beyond recycled content
  • Global responsibility

Investment, Finance & Procurement

  • The missing link in Australia
  • Financing the CE: opportunities and challenges
  • Why the numbers stack up
  • Creating a relevant business case to go circular
  • How purchasing impacts CE

CE Principles in Practice

  • CE success stories making a big impact/driving change
  • The importance of good design and how to influence it
  • Building social, environmental, and economic capital
  • Harnessing traditional knowledge and working with First Nations communities
  • CE in action - case studies and examples of:
    • Eliminate waste and pollution
    • Circulate products and materials (at their highest value)
    • Regenerate nature
    • Systems for re-use, repair, refurbish
    • Sharing economy

Role of Government

  • The role of government at each level – local, state and federal
  • Procurement
  • Community engagement
  • Waste prevention and avoidance
  • How to become a CE advocate

Awareness & Behaviour Change

  • Creating cultural change
  • Learning and knowledge hubs
  • Effective marketing and communications to inform and activate

Responsible Production & Consumption

  • What is responsible production and consumption?
  • Real-world examples
  • Extended Producer Responsibility across the lifecycle
  • Product Stewardship Disclosure Framework
  • Addressing the free-rider challenge

Measuring Success

  • What does success look like?  Global and local? In 5, 10 and 25 years?!
  • Measuring what matters
  • Reporting and measurement tools

The call for abstracts is open to both WMRR members and non-members. All abstract submissions will be presented to the program committee for review and final selection.  Abstracts received outside of the topics listed may be considered and additional abstracts may be sought at the discretion of the committee.

SUMBISSIONS CLOSE MONDAY, 25 MARCH 2024

Submit your abstract here.