Executive Summary

Ai Group welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into Australia’s opportunities in the circular economy (CE).
Australia has great potential to implement and benefit from CE. However, there are also significant logistical and societal challenges to overcome for the benefits to be fully realised.

Key messages from our submission include:

• CE principles have existed for some time and businesses do not always think of their activities in this context.
• Suitable metrics will need to suit the context of the products/materials.
• Previous work on product stewardship should be leveraged while key stakeholders are engaged, and momentum is present.
• A number of challenges to implementing CE exist.
• Policy cohesion is key to governments enabling CE and driving change.
• The role of consumer education cannot be understated, as without consumer demand CE products and services being implemented will not succeed.