Funding awarded to accelerate circular economy projects
On behalf of the Victorian Government, Sustainability Victoria is proud to be awarding a total of $6.3 million in grants to 23 projects, as we speed up Victoria’s transition to a circular economy.
This marks the first round of funding awarded through the Circular Economy Business Innovation Centre (CEBIC) and follows on from eight months of circular economy acceleration activities.
The successful projects include a range of circular economy business models aimed at designing out waste and extending the life and value of products and materials. Businesses, industry, research institutions and not-for-profit organisations have joined forces to collaborate on many of the projects.
While some projects will launch sustainable products and services, others will test out innovations and contribute new circular ideas.
Together, the 23 projects will:
- identify, develop and assess more than 150 circular solutions to tackle almost 1 million tonnes of waste
- implement new business models to design out more than 41,450 tonnes of business waste each year
- launch innovations to recycle 27,680 tonnes of waste into new products each year
- reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 42,760 tonnes each year
- deliver 72 new jobs
- support 19 collaborative partnerships
- leverage private investment of more than $10 million into Victoria’s circular economy.
View the successful Innovation Fund projects.
View the successful Business Support Fund projects:
A focus on food waste
In line with CEBIC’s first annual focus area, 12 of the 23 funded projects are tackling food waste.
Together, the 12 projects will:
- implement solutions to reduce or recycle food waste by 50,280 tonnes each year
- contribute to 4.2% toward Victoria’s target to halve food waste by 2030
- identify, develop and trial solutions to reduce an additional 693,000 tonnes of food waste each year.
In Victoria, food and food products currently result in 2.4 million tonnes of waste a year. This costs the Victorian economy more than $6 billion a year and contributes to 15 per cent of our non-energy emissions.
The Path to Half report, published earlier this year, dives into the environmental, social and economic costs of food waste in Victoria. The report presents the top solutions to prevent food waste with a goal of halving Victoria’s food waste by 2050. Our 12 newly funded projects will support Victoria to take a huge first step on this path to half.
Read more about halving Victoria’s food waste in the Path to Half report.
Recycling Victoria: a new economy
CEBIC and the Innovation and Business Support Funds form part of Victoria’s circular economy policy – Recycling Victoria: a new economy (RV). The Victorian Government has invested more than $515 million to deliver the biggest transformation and reform of Victoria’s waste and recycling industry. This includes $380 million to deliver RV which will fundamentally reduce waste, boost jobs and establish a recycling system Victorians can rely on.
RV also recognises that Victorian businesses are central in the transition to a circular economy and details a commitment to improving business productivity, reducing waste and accelerating innovation.
For all grants and funding opportunities we offered by Sustainability Victoria and CEBIC, subscribe to our grants and funding alert.