Circular Economy and Sustainability (CES) program

CES program collaborates with PPP to embed CES principles in real-world models and to communicate the relevance of CES principles on sustainable development.

Supports SDG 12 - Sustainable consumption and production, reduction in food waste, life cycle management of industrial and other wastes, sustainability reporting, consumption in the developing world, and decoupling of economic growth from natural resource use.

We aim to develop innovative tools to measure social & environmental values, and evaluates practical steps businesses can take to align their financial, societal and environmental goals into activities that build greater economic, social & ecological values.

Remanufacturing processes transform end-of-life, non-functional, discarded, or traded-in products into products with equal or superior specifications to newly produced goods, but at a fractional cost and with fewer resources and less energy.

Recycling and recovery, in where used materials are treated or extracted to make them suitable for reuse

Sharing economy, also termed ‘collaborative consumption’, takes place in organized systems or networks in which participants engage in sharing activities in the form of renting, lending, trading, bartering, and swapping goods, services, transportation solutions.

Product life extension, in which products are ultimately designed to have a longer lifetime

Servitization is a concept for manufacturers to transform into service providers with the introduction of new organisational principles, structures, and processes, so that they can be responsible for the goods they produce. Instead of selling products, they sell services e.g. Ikea or BMW Drive Now.

Recycling and recovery of composites –  University of Nottingham, Ningbo

The growth rate exceeded 12%. per annum. 15–18 % of global electricity demands will be supplied by wind energy from 2020 to 2050 (European Wind Energy Asso, 2014)

With design lifespan of 20 years, end-of-life blades waste will become a critical problem by 2028 (Liu & Barlow, 2017) . Pressing need to consider this very significant waste stream of composites.

Our research addresses viability of a carbon fiber extraction process using pyrolysis to recalibrate maximum carbon fiber value, with proposed reuse of extracted fibers to close the circular economy loop.

Consumer purchase of remanufactured goods - University of London, Birkbeck

Green products appear in different guises and among them, remanufactured (RM) products have entered the green market, albeit consumer goods.

RM products are already-used products, restored to like-new condition by OEMs.  Benefits include energy & material saved, solid waste reduction, and decreased pollution.

Consumer acceptance of ‘seconds’ is needed to close the circular loop.

From our survey of 956 consumers in the UK and China, we find if consumers become more aware of such green benefits, they are more likely to purchase them, albeit necessity to cater to consumption values (environmental, status, and value consciousness).

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recovery- Galaxy Entertainment Group

Single-use plastics purchased by GEG was 605 tonnes p.a., including 327 tonnes of PET plastic bottles. GEG realized the impact and wanted to understand CE standards, costs and benefits to implementation. To process, recover & reuse plastics have large economic and social implications, such as energy used, pollution and acceptance ($$$)

Schema shows costs (orange) and benefits (green) for process flow of plastic bottles in repurposing, and benefits in providing leadership for region and industry.

Towards Zero Waste - Singapore International Chamber of Commerce

SICC and JCU, in conjunction with CITBA aim to raise the awareness of individuals, companies, and the society in Singapore to develop sustainable habits and advance their actions on CES.

Three thematic areas to be promoted: Correct use of recycle bins; food waste reduction; and management of e-waste.

National-level competition in Singapore involving all IHL (young adult above 17 years) to find global solutions to local issues. Competition closes on 1st Oct 2019.

Contact

For more information on the Circular Economy & Sustainability Program, please contact Associate Professor Adrian Kuah on adrian.kuah@jcu.edu.au.