Circular Economy: How Small and Medium Businesses in Australia Can Drive the Transition and Improve Their Bottom Line

As small businesses, we have a unique opportunity to drive the transition to a circular economy in Australia, writes Ashley Olsson founder of sustainable advisory service Evolveable Consulting.

There is increasing focus from a regulatory perspective, with the Australian and State Governments putting measures in place, such as the National Waste Policy Action Plan and Recycling Modernisation Fund, to address single waste plastics, electronic and construction-related waste, all of which are valuable resources with varying degrees of environmental impact.

What is the circular economy?

The circular economy is a system in which resources are used for as long as possible, extracting the maximum value from them and then recovering and regenerating products and materials at the end of their service life. This approach can help reduce environmental impact, drive greater resource productivity, and deliver a more efficient economy.

Small and medium businesses can reduce our environmental impact by adopting circular business models while improving our bottom line.

How can small businesses adopt a circular economy?

There are several circular opportunities that small and medium businesses can consider depending on the nature of your business. These include:

1. Circular procurement involves procuring alternative resources and replacing traditional virgin materials in your products with renewable, recyclable or biodegradable resource inputs.
2. Product as a service: This business model transitions your company from selling (where you pass on the value) to providing products through lease or subscriptions (where you retain ownership).
3. Material and resource recovery: This involves recovering valuable resources from products and creating new products; e-waste is an excellent example.
4. Product life extension: Extending the life of your product reduces lifecycle environmental impact; this can be via repair or refurbishment.
5. Sharing platforms: Many businesses have underutilised assets; sharing platforms are changing this whereby multiple users can access the assets. A good example is the increase in car-sharing platforms.

Small and medium businesses can reduce their environmental impact by adopting these circular business models while improving their bottom line. Many grant opportunities are available for companies demonstrating innovative approaches to embedding circular economy opportunities into their business.

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