With upcoming events, international conferences, and local workshops, it has been a busy few months for the circular economy team at the Hunter JO.

Australian Bioeconomy Conference 2023

The Hunter JO is an organising partner for the Australian Industrial Ecology Network’s (AIEN) Australian Bioeconomy Conference 2023. This event is being hosted in Newcastle for the first time this year on 19 and 20 September!

The two-day event’s theme is Managing Carbon and Biomass in a Carbon Constrained World and will explore potential opportunities for industry in Australia and what it might look like in the future.  A Hunter JO representative will be opening the conference and an overview of our Circular Precincts and Futures Hub project is being featured in the program.

Head to the Australian Bioeconomy Conference website for more information!

World Circular Economy Forum

Earlier this year, our Program Lead (Circular Economy) Eloise Lobsey, attended the World Circular Economy Conference (WCEF) in Finland as part of an Australian delegation organised by the Australian Circular Economy Hub (ACEHUB).

The WCEF is the premier international conference for Circular Economy transition, organised annually by Nordic Innovation and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. It draws leaders and practitioners from a wide range of sectors across the globe to share solutions and advance the circular economy transition movement.

As well as the two-day conference, Eloise also attended three side event sessions as well as a number of meetings with representatives from the Finnish Government and European Union.

We will be hosting a Circular Knowledge Hub event on the 26 October in the Hunter to share the key learnings and opportunities from the WCEF, as well as to officially launch our Hunter Circular Hub! Details will be coming out in the following weeks, so make sure you subscribe on Hunter Circular or join our Hunter Circular LinkedIn Group.

Textiles Circularity

Hunter Circular, an initiative of the Hunter JO, is exploring textiles circularity in the region! In June, we hosted a Textiles Circularity Think Thank with MRA Consulting Group to bring together key players from local government, industries, and other stakeholders across the region’s textiles value chain.

The event was attended by 35 stakeholders from Local Government, industry, and other groups across the textiles value chain. Together, the stakeholders brainstormed and provided insight into the gaps and opportunities for greater circularisation of textiles in the Hunter, developed and pitched an education campaign, and workshopped potential pilot projects to address the identified gaps and opportunities.

The information shared at this think tank will help in identifying the relevant stakeholders and building the business case for a textiles recovery pathway in the region. If you would like to be involved in future textiles circularity projects in the Hunter, please contact ce@hunterjo.com.au

Head to our Hunter Circular Hub to keep up to date with circular economy in our region!