INNOVATION IS THE ENGINE OF AUSTRALIA’S CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Australia is at a pivotal moment in its transition to a circular economy – one where materials are reused, recycled, and kept in circulation for as long as possible.

At Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), we believe innovation is the key to unlocking this future.

But innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

It needs the right conditions to thrive.

The problem: Risk, scale and uncertainty

At a recent industry roundtable we co-hosted with The Coca-Cola Company and Planet Ark, one message came through loud and clear: while Australia has the ambition and the ideas, we need to do more to bring circular economy solutions to life.

A major barrier is the challenge of de-risking and scaling first-of-a-kind recycling and resource recovery projects.

These are new technologies or facilities that haven’t been tried at scale before, like advanced plastic recycling.

They often struggle to attract private investment because of regulatory uncertainty and the high upfront costs involved.

Government programs like the Recycling Modernisation Fund are helping, but they can’t do it alone.

We need a stronger partnership between the public and private sectors to share the risks and accelerate progress.

Case studies in action: What’s possible

We’ve seen what’s achievable when the right support is in place.

Our joint venture, Circular Plastics Australia (PET), in collaboration with Pact Group, Cleanaway Waste Management and Asahi Beverages, has delivered two world-class recycling facilities in Albury and Altona North.

Together, they can recycle up to the equivalent of 2 billion PET plastic bottles each year — turning used bottles into new ones, again and again.

Globally, we’re investing in breakthrough technologies like CuRe Technology, which rejuvenates hard-to-recycle plastics into high-quality recycled PET (rPET) with a carbon footprint 65% lower than virgin plastic.

These are the kinds of innovations we need to foster here in Australia, but they require a supportive ecosystem to succeed.

Why it matters to CCEP

At CCEP, we’re committed to building a net zero, circular economy.

That means designing out waste, keeping materials in use, and reducing our environmental impact at every stage of our value chain.

Policy makers have outlined ambitions to double Australia’s circularity rate by 2035 — increasing the proportion of materials that are reused or recycled rather than sent to landfill.

To get there, we need to create the right conditions for innovation to flourish.

That includes:

Blended finance mechanisms: Combining public and private funding to reduce risk and unlock investment in new recycling infrastructure.

Open-source commercial IP: Encouraging the sharing of successful technologies so they can be scaled more quickly and widely.

Policy innovation: Adopting proven models like the Netherlands’ Green Deals program, which brings together government, industry and communities to accelerate sustainable solutions.

A call to action

Innovation isn’t just a buzzword — it’s the engine of a circular economy.

If we want to build a more sustainable future, we need to back the ideas, technologies and partnerships that will get us there.

At CCEP, we’re ready to play our part.

We’re calling on government, industry and communities to work together to create the conditions that will allow circular innovation to thrive.

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