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The UNSW SMaRT Centre submission to Investment NSW on its Green Paper, 'Securing future innovation and global competitiveness in NSW', has been published.
The Green Paper explores a range of transformative forces forces driving structural economic change over the next 10 to 15 years will underpin industry policy reform in NSW. These forces include:
- Transition to net zero emissions by 2050.
- Building a circular economy.
- Shifting to an increasingly digital economy.
- Harnessing new opportunities and managing risks in global value chains; and
- Capitalising on growing consumer markets in Asia.
SMaRT's submission focusses on three of these: transition to net zero emissions by 2050; building a circular economy; and harnessing new opportunities and managing risks in global value chains.
The submission says "it is essential society strives to develop a circular economy in which we keep materials in use for as long as possible and establish new business supply chains, to better manage waste as a resource and create new jobs, along with other economic, social and environmental benefits.
"Various technologies and capability are now already available right here in NSW to reform much of this unwanted material into new products and manufacturing feedstock to help reduce the need for landfill, as well as reduce the need for mining and production of ‘virgin’ materials."