With 2026 around the corner, it is time to reflect and note some of the interesting developments that happened in our ecosystem. From regulatory shifts to financial frameworks, this edition highlights signals that matter for transition leaders, practitioners, and organisations seeking to innovate and advance towards a circular and clean economy.
We see progress in things
But we see setbacks too
Some perspectives on what’s around us
Check out how Anvarta’s contributing to shape this landscape
EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation advances implementation
In 2025, the EU advanced ESPR implementation through its 2025–2030 Working Plan, prioritising sustainability requirements for products such as textiles, metals, furniture, and tyres, with implications for global supply chains entering the EU market. Read more
New global circular economy finance guidance released at WCEF 2025
At WCEF 2025, the IFC launched Harmonised Circular Economy Finance Guidelines, offering investors and corporates a shared framework to identify and scale circular economy investments across sectors, including textiles, electronics, construction, and agribusiness. Read more
Launch of the Global Circularity Protocol for Business (GCP) at COP30
Launched at COP30, the GCP provides a science-based framework for companies to measure and report circularity performance, supporting consistent, comparable metrics aligned with existing sustainability and climate disclosure frameworks. Read more
ACCC Authorises Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme
In November 2025, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission granted an eight-year authorisation allowing Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia (SPSA) and participating retailers to collect and recycle soft plastic packaging. The authorisation supports the reinstatement and expansion of soft plastic collection programs following the collapse of the REDcycle initiative. Read more
ACCC Reauthorises Battery Stewardship Scheme
The ACCC reauthorised the Battery Stewardship Council’s B-cycle scheme for five more years. This ensures continued national coordination of battery collection and recycling while work continues on potential future regulatory frameworks. Read more
And we see setbacks too…
Recycling Victoria and Sustainability Victoria are affected by public sector reforms
Following an independent review of the Victorian Public Service by Helen Silver AO, the Victorian Government has proposed reforms through the Entities Legislation Amendment (Consolidation and Other Matters) Bill 2025. The Bill would merge Recycling Victoria with EPA Victoria, transferring functions under the Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021. The reforms also indicate the potential winding down of Sustainability Victoria, which could impact program delivery, stakeholder engagement, and the coordination of circular economy initiatives across the state. Read more
Some perspectives on what’s around us
In reflection, we bring different lenses on how circular thinking is evolving — from mindsets and processes to lived experiences.
Circular transition is not just a set of policies or business strategies — it’s also about how individuals and organisations think, collaborate, and embed systemic change into daily practice.
Here are some of our recent perspectives and thought leadership pieces.
Read more – Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate – But Why Don’t We Do It Enough?
2. Ambiguous role of recycling in a circular economy — exploring why and why not we should appreciate the role of recycling in a circular economy.
Read more– Recycling: The Friend or Foe of a Regenerative Economy
3. The ‘magic tricks’ of circular solutions – why proven solutions often fail when transplanted into new contexts.
Read more – Why ‘What Works There’ Rarely Works Here – Understanding the Magic Tricks!
4. The human dimension of transitions — from cultural identity to community engagement — and how these shape our collective journey toward lasting outcomes.
Read more– Living between two worlds – A personal response to March for Australia
Check out how Anvarta’s contributing to shape this landscape
We continue to bring thought leaders and expert practitioners to enable knowledge-sharing and capacity-building across sectors. Some of our recent highlights include:
We’ve hosted a series of engaging webinars with our partners and these are some of the highlights.
Masterclasses we conduct in Australia and internationally
We recently wrapped up two engaging masterclass sessions focused on bringing circular economy principles into real-world procurement and supply chains.
Sharing insights on circular economy and sustainable innovation, Anvarta contributes to conversations in key forums in Australia and beyond.
We’ve been out and about, engaging in some great conversations closer to home and across the region.
In Australia, at Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society (ALCAS) Conference 2025 we connected with experts on life cycle assessment and advanced environmental measurement. During Waste Expo Australia 2025, we explored market-driven circular innovations and how businesses can future-proof resource recovery models. We also contributed to discussions on collaboration and systems-level change in sustainable textile value chains at theSustainable Fibres Symposium 2025 organised by the ARC Research Hub for Future Fibres.
In Southeast Asia, we shared regional perspectives on circular economy and regenerative business models, engaging with policymakers, industry leaders, and practitioners in the bioeconomy and apparel sectors in 2026. Our inputs at the Bioeconomy Conference in Malaysia and Textile and Apparel Sector Conference in Sri Lankaare some of the ones to cherish.
The business breakfast we hosted in Melbourne to spark practical conversations on circular procurement with corporate and public sector leaders in one of our highlights for the year
Measuring Environmental & Circular Impacts
We’ve been busy putting life cycle assessment into action — from quantifying co-benefits of land restoration and biochar production for Cobar BioHub and assessing carbon credit pathways for biochar-mixed wood fibre products for Vital Chemical
Anvarta is a specialised research partner in measuring and taking innovation to market
Our contribution to the innovation ecosystem as a specialised partner to Universities continues to grow, and 2025 was a special one.
We helped innovators at the Institute of Frontier Materials at Deakin University model the environmental and cost impacts of sustainable colouring agents made from textile waste and researchers at the @SMaRt Centre of UNSWconduct holistic and multi-criteria assessments in evaluating a diverse set of recycling technologies.
Strategic Advisory for Circular Transition
We continue to work with corporates to reach next level of value creation with circular transition. We worked closely with Independent Cement and Lime Group, reviewing strategy and providing advice on how to embed circular principles into their core business, looking at the whole of supply chain from sourcing to market.
Putting circular procurement into practice
We continue to advance and innovate in the space of circular procurement as a specialised partner in transition.
Our work with 8 city councils in Sydney, through the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC)is one such project where we closely work to diagnose barriers and facilitate taking practical steps to put circular procurement into action.
Our work with global supply chains
Our work in Asia and with global supply chains continues to shape our strategy.
We worked with Ansell, one of the major global production centres in Sri Lanka, on executive education, coaching, and preparing the supply chain leaders to bring circular principles into the heart of their core business.
Partnering to take our expertise to diverse sectors and to scale
As we enter the phase of scaling, partnerships remain a core part of our strategy.
Growing and starting to publish through our own knowledge hub
Research is a key pillar of Anvarta’s thought leadership.
Strengthening our pillar on research and leveraging on our internal knowledge base, we commenced our journey to co-create and publish work that is useful for advancing industry outcomes.
The opportunity to publish, contributing to the CERN APAC 2025, was a great one, where we did a chapter to Circular Transformations: Showcasing partnership-driven solutions for plastic and packaging waste in Asia Pacific,highlighting practical lessons from industry-government collaboration in advancing regulatory and industry outcomes.
Thank you for sharing this journey with us!
Stay tuned for Issue #12 in March 2026, where we’ll explore early outcomes in 2026 and beyond. Best regards,
Team Anvarta.