About the event
In this session we will present an overview of the National Waste Policy as a driver in Australia’s transition to a circular economy, explain why the use of secondary materials is important in this transition, and how engineers can open opportunities and influence the transition.
We will also introduce WWF’s Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance (MECLA) and discuss how it is bringing Australian government and industry together to decarbonise Australia’s built environment, how the design and construction of new buildings will need to change over the next decade, and how the industry is looking to engineers to accelerate the transition.
Finally, the session will outline practical ways in which engineers can help transition to a circular economy including:
Packaging / Product design reengineering to improve circular businesses
Process efficiency review: reduce process losses, reduce use of raw material & increase use of recycled content
Innovation: new material, new design, new processes
Further Information
International commitment to and accountability for sustainable development is at a tipping point and the consequences of maintaining the status quo could be disastrous. Engineers play a critical role in transitioning Australia’s built environment to a circular and net-zero economy - from advising and implementing policy, to developing and delivering technical solutions, and inspiring and guiding the engineers of our future. Through this presentation, we hope to inspire you and to provide practical tools to help you drive environmental sustainability in the work that you do.
About the speakers
Catherine Caldwell
Australian Government Department of Agriculture Water and Environment, Resource Circularity and Communications Branch
Catherine is leading the Commonwealth Sustainable Procurement Advocacy and Resource Centre (C-SPARC) to mainstream the use of sustainable materials and drive demand for recycled content through government procurement and industry partnerships. Before joining C-SPARC, Catherine was part of the National Waste and Recycling Taskforce where she helped deliver the Australian Government response to the waste export ban. Catherine has worked at Commonwealth and state government level on climate change policy, international relations and trade and investment programs.
Monica Richter
Senior Manager, Low Carbon Futures, WWF Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance
Monica Richter is an economist and social ecologist with extensive experience in environmental sustainability with an interest in the role of business in accelerating the uptake of low and zero carbon solutions. Recent career highlights include establishing the Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance, with over 120 companies and organisations agreeing to collaborate to reduce the embodied carbon in the construction and infrastructure sectors to align with the Paris Agreement objectives and the principles of the circular economy. Other highlights include establishing the Business Renewables Centre – Australia driving large scale renewable projects through Power Purchase Agreements, deep engagement in WWF’s PandaLabs innovation program, and supporting the Science Based Targets Initiative in Australia, getting companies to set ambitious long term greenhouse gas emission reduction targets aligned with a 1.5oC pathway. Monica is a thought leader and has been invited to participate in many forums and conferences as both a speaker and a chair. Monica is a graduate of the Future Directors program, a Board Member of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, Chair of the Mercury Centre collaborative enterprise catalyst, and board member of Pingala community power, and on the Women in Renewables list published by the Clean Energy Council.
Sophie Degagny
Associate Director, KPMG
Sophie is an Associate Director in KPMG’s Sustainability Services team. She has over 12 years of experience in the areas of circular economy, environmental policy and waste management strategy and implementation. Sophie brings a wide range of experience in circular economy strategy, waste recycling and recovery, delivering large scale projects, developing new business models, and cost modelling. Sophie is particularly interested in supporting governments and businesses to move toward a circular business model and see how policy and regulations can support and accelerate this move. Prior to KPMG, Sophie worked as Head of Circular Economy for Olleco where she led the delivery of a range of circular economy projects and the management of the company’s public affairs, and as Innovation & Recycling Manager for Veolia UK where her focus was on business model reengineering to create a resource recovery business based around the Circular Economy model. Sophie graduated from an engineering school in France, moved to the UK straight after school where she got most of her professional experience and a Diploma in Management Studies from the University of Northampton, prior relocating to Sydney in September 2020.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Closes 6th August 2022
https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/event/2022/06/sustainable-procurem...