Sustainability Victoria has announced its successful Buy Recycled Service is expanding to enable councils to adopt products and services with circular attributes and long-term circular outcomes, in addition to recycled content.
The new Buy Circular Service supports local governments to consider circular aspects of products including recycled and reused materials, materials efficiency and design for disassembly while encouraging the adoption of circular economy principles in procurement decisions for infrastructure, landscaping, parks and gardens projects.
Additionally, the Buy Circular Service will focus on supporting suppliers to consider circular attributes of their products and service models, and connecting them with local government buyers to better understand procurement processes and requirements. It will also highlight existing suppliers with circular solutions.
Sustainability Victoria CEO, Matt Genever says the Buy Recycled Service has equipped councils with the skills to make sustainable procurement a part of their core operations.
“The Buy Circular Service expands on the success of Buy Recycled and empowers councils to build their capability in circular procurement,” said Mr Genever.
“Councils have significant buying power and play a critical role in growing markets for circular products and materials, including recycled products.
“The Buy Circular Service is aimed at closing the gap between recycling, design and manufacturing while driving the uptake of products with circular attributes and models.”
He said Sustainability Victoria was able to engage with 96% of councils through the Buy Recycled program, building confidence in recycled products and positively influencing councils’ procurement decisions. The program also built awareness around the need for the inclusion of sustainability considerations within procurement documentation and supported councils to make these updates, said Mr Genever.
It’s envisaged the Buy Circular Service will build on the existing cohesive network of local governments and focus on four key pillars:
- Building government confidence in circular products and services;
- Improving procurement processes and documentation in government to drive
procurement of circular products and services; - Encouraging knowledge sharing and networking among government;
- Enabling suppliers of recycled materials and products to consider circular models of
service or promote their already existing circular models.
The Buy Recycled Service was supported by 23 Champions from 21 councils who were selected for their exceptional leadership in promoting sustainable procurement within their councils.
Buy Circular is building on the success of this element, appointing 44 champions from 30 councils across Victoria to support knowledge sharing and networking among local governments, said Mr Genever.
Now almost double in numbers, the new Champions include Council representatives from
engineering, procurement, urban design, economic development, circular economy, sustainability and waste and recycling.
Sustainability Projects Officer at Wellington Shire Council, Kavinga Karunasekara said that by joining the program, he hoped to gain valuable skills in sustainable design and resource management from like-minded experts and have the opportunity to lead and influence others towards adopting circular economy practices.
Fresh from a Municipal Engineering Foundation Victoria study tour to research how CE is being integrated in public infrastructure projects, Faina Levin, Circular Economy Strategic Lead at City of Boroondara, has also become a Buy Circular Champion.
“For me, being a Champion provides the opportunity to continuously exchange knowledge and see how different learnings may apply in my organisation,” says Ms Levin.
“Councils are doing some awesome things in Victoria and having access to case studies that are relevant and relatable is crucial to inspiring the ‘how’ of implementing an initiative.
“I want to look at how to embed circularity across all functions and bridge the gap between myself as a ‘transition broker’ for a circular economy and those in different areas of Council.”
The new Buy Circular Champions program was launched at last month’s Sustainability Victoria.
For more information visit www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/buy-circular.
