World Resources Forum calls for a more competitive Australia

The World Resources Forum Asia Pacific, held in Sydney during June, concluded that Australia needs to make some changes if it is to remain globally competitive and prosperous post-boom. Co-hosted by the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at UTS and SMaRT@UNSW, the event was attended by 300 people from more than 10 different countries, with stakeholders representing government, industry, academia and NGOs.

The forum saw the launch of an ‘Action Agenda for Resource Productivity and Innovation’ by Associate Professor Damien Giurco, a research director at the ISF. Associate Professor Giurco said Australian industry and government urgently need to develop a collective vision for prosperity in a ‘take-make-re-create’ circular economy rather than ‘take-make-dispose’ approach of today.

“The Action Agenda is a starting point for further discussion and research to position resource productivity and innovation as high priorities on the national agenda,” he said. “It outlines four future opportunities for Australia to achieve a new wave of prosperity, as our key trade partners in Japan, China and Europe are already gearing up for. We need to make sure Australia is in a strategic position to build a resilient, competitive economy and promote responsible prosperity within the Asia-Pacific region.

“For example, there is a massive opportunity for business in Australia to harness the renewable energy transition for innovation in sectors beyond the energy industries such as mining and manufacturing — $270 billion was invested last year in the transition globally. We need to export responsible minerals, and part of this is closing the loop on waste and growing reverse logistics to support circular resource cycles.”

ISF intends to bring together a group of key stakeholders to develop the Action Agenda into a five-year strategy for resource productivity and circular economy in Australia. This will require collaboration across industry, government, NGOs and researchers, building on the World Resources Forum Asia Pacific and the Wealth from Waste Cluster.

“ISF’s goal is to encourage organisations, particularly industry leaders and entrepreneurs, to join us in shaping the future vision and strategy for resource productivity in Australia ahead of October’s World Resources Forum, where we will discuss the strategy in the context of regional and global strategies,” said Associate Professor Giurco.

According to recent research from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Australia uses four times more resources than resource-poor Japan to deliver the same output in the economy. As a whole, the Asia-Pacific region uses 53% of the world’s resources yet only generates 25% of the world’s GDP.

Janet Salem, UNEP Asia-Pacific manager and a keynote speaker at the forum, recommends countries in the region look to more efficient and intelligent use of resources in areas such as infrastructure and technology in order to remain viable and prosper.

“China has already introduced policy framework for a circular economy by implementing price and regulatory instruments at a government level,” she noted. “Private enterprise has followed suit and introduced the technology to support the circular economy.”

The next World Resources Forum will be held in Davos, Switzerland, from 11-14 October.