Circular Economy Learnings from Europe

Online Webinar - Transition brokers, radical collaboration and the role of hubs in the transition to a circular economy

Australia, New Zealand and our Asia/Pacific neighbours can learn a great deal from members of the European Union (EU) where the transition towards a circular economy is already underway. This was an obvious takeaway from a recent European Study Tour organised by the Australian Circular Economy Hub and Planet Ark, which derived significant learnings from the Netherlands, Sweden, France and the UK as well as the World Circular Economy Forum in Helsinki, Finland.

In this webinar, circular economy practitioners who joined the ACE Hub Study Tour Delegation will share their key learnings. Moderated by Planet Ark’s Nicole Garofano, we will hear from Debbie O’Byrne from Planet Price, and Tania Hyde from BECA. Debbie and Tania will share learnings from the European Study Tour from project examples in Europe that have moved beyond theory to practice by implementing the systems thinking and radical collaboration required to shift sectors and systems at scale.  

Our speakers will recount their experiences and take you on their journey of real-world examples of policy and practice that are enabling a circular economy transition. 

Nicole Garofano is the Head of Circular Economy Development for Planet Ark. Nicole is leading the ongoing strategic development of the Australian Circular Economy Hub. For almost 20 years, Nicole has worked in environmental education and action with a focus on waste management and a circular economy. 

Tania Hyde is a Chartered Civil Engineer, Technical Director and Circular Design Lead for Beca’s Transport and Infrastructure team. Tania’s experience and knowledge has enabled her to co-design Beca’s new Circular Design (system thinking) Framework for project delivery with Debbie. This framework aligns Broader Outcomes and resilience, with Circular Economy principles to catalyse the transformation of conventional projects into beacons of circular outcomes. 

Debbie O’Byrne is the Co-Founder of Planet Price, a company helping businesses transition to a more sustainable, circular future by using AI-driven tools to calculate the real cost of everything. Debbie has been involved in the Circular Economy space for a decade, having made it the focus of her MBA Master’s thesis. For the past two years she has been the Circular Economy Lead at Lake Macquarie Council where she worked on projects related to policy, material and data flows, low carbon economic development and incorporating an indigenous perspective into the council’s Circular Economy Framework.