focus

Regional Sustainability provides the broad framework for this exploration, and to establish how solutions have been developed that are responsive to place.

Regional is the context in which sustainability was explored and is defined by the location, region and its associated resources, infrastructure and communities.

Sustainability is a term that describes a methodology that seeks to ensure that the “harvesting or utilisation of a resource that does not deplete or permanently change the availability of that resource.”

  • The three key factors that describe a particular context are Social, Environmental and Economic resources. Specific focus areas were identified to provide a broad perspective within each of those localities. Within the regional context , three overarching focuses were applied as indicated below.

  • For the social aspects, investigation explored Cultural Heritage, Creative Industries and Community Initiatives.

  • Environmental considerations explored Resource recovery & Biomass utilisation, Renewable energy & Clean technologies, Decentralised energy & Distributed generation.

  • For the economic models, this explored Research & Development and Policy, Repurposing Precincts & Adaptive reuse, Local circular economies.

aspects

Design Thinking is a process applied to creating a solution for an identified problem and is particularly relevant in resolving complex issues.

It commonly focuses on the end-user, in attempting to provide a solution that addresses an identified or specific local need

It is an iterative process, which if applied appropriately, has the potential to create an innovative solution that provides social and economic impact, as well as environmental outcomes.

  • Design Thinking is an iterative process, it allows concepts to be developed and tested, by revisiting , making adjustment , rethinking , remodelling and re-designing.

    Universally, the methodology is described as having five identified stages and in some instance six, if implementation is included. The applications can be applied across various sectors.

  • Engage, empathise and understand the challenge, both from a qualitative and quantitative perspective.

  • Involve initial design articulating the problem and defining the ecology of the system.

  • Define a strategic concept to achieving an innovative solution.

  • Develop a model, roadmap or visualisation that describes the identified solution.

  • Establish feedback, re-design and obtain approval.

  • Implement the solution and scale utilisation.

    Most diagrams describing the process tend to be linear in appearance, but as the process is iterative, a representation of circular approach would seem the most appropriate.

principles

Founding principles of the concept of the circular economy are that waste is a resource, energy should be derived from renewable resources and that cross-sector collaboration and integrated systems thinking are fundamental.

In moving towards a local circular economy requires strategy across a number of functions within an organisation or community , which relate to Manufacturing or Production, Sales & marketing, Waste management, Procurement , Design & Research and Finance. These following six principles are identified as contributory to achieving circular outcomes.

  • This describes economic growth that occurs at a regional or community scale that parallels with the overarching design concept of the circular economy.

    This approach in gaining increasing attention particularly in the Scandinavian countries as a process of achieving growth whilst reducing impact.

  • In line with the notion of the circular economy, resource recovery involves the diversion or extraction of disposed materials for re-use or repurposing.

    This offers an alternative to current waste management practices by extracting maximum benefits from those streams and diverting them from landfill or application to land, and before more raw materials are sought to meet demand.

  • Decentralised Energy (DE) refers to energy technologies and practices that optimise the use of local resources and reduce the need for large-scale energy supply infrastructure.

    This new paradigm of energy generation provides an opportunity to improve energy affordability whilst meeting environmental considerations by reducing carbon emissions. This also improves the resilience of local energy supply in the event of regional disruption to the centralised grid.

  • The utilisation of clean technology to provide decentralised energy with local resources has the potential for key contribution to developing local economies.

    A diverse range of appropriate technologies includes Solar Thermal & Electric, Kinetic energy for wind and hydropower and Bioenergy using biogenic waste. The provision of infrastructure assets and utilities to deliver the localised generation is a key consideration.

  • In exploring solutions to identified regional issues and problems, businesses and organisation are adopting different approaches through reviewing the markets they operate within and how this impacts on their competitiveness.

    Successful collaborations most often have a clear vision and shared purpose, where an enterprise is established for an identified purpose of achieving an outcome, and that draws from the collective experience and expertise of that network. Commonly members of that network engage in a specific initiative or project to achieve a collaborative outcome.

  • In achieving a facilitated approach to a designed outcome, this process brings together a number of components and seeks to integrate them into one functional element. It is applicable across a number of industries and processes and has the potential to deliver efficiency , productivity and cost benefits through the utilisation of common information and data.

    Commonly a multi-disciplinary approach is adopted to engage a number of specialist inputs at the early stages of the design process.

  • Through the process of creating innovation to achieve sustainable outcomes, the development of a relationship between stakeholders introduces the potential for a solution which is based on mutual trust. Rather than in the case of a conventional market scenario, both consumers can obtain benefit and convenors or developers of an initiative, can gain a competitive advantage.

    The innovation lies in the collective development of a process rather than a specific outcome or products, and the emphasis on a multi-directional relationship that allows for the iterative development of the initiative or solution.


RECOMMENDATIONS

This report highlights some of key insights from the research into initiatives that could foster the regeneration of regional communities throughout Australia. It is about starting the conversation on how government, industry & communities can invest in place-based models that better support local circular outcomes.

  • Complex, multi-sector development requires collaboration from government, industry and investment stakeholders.

  • This requires a co-ordinated approach; collaboration needs to occur across sectors, they cannot operate in silos.

  • Place-based design requires the support and leadership of governing entities, in most case the Local council or a Regional Organisations of Councils.

  • Development of Strategic plans should consider all sectors and be designed specific for those regions or localities.

  • Investment is required for industrial development, community infrastructure and the required skills based training.