The Circle Awards celebrate and unite those leading the way to a better future. Better? A future in which the planet, people and economies can all thrive, not just survive.
The awards recognise the local businesses, organisations, projects, and people having a positive environmental and social impact. Together we’re building a passionate community and fostering a culture of collaboration and collective action to inspire others to be better.
Vote now in the People's Choice Award, powered by JOLT and Peppermint Magazine
One lucky voter will win a prize pack including a Great Mate Starter Kit and 1-year subscription of Nudie Roll refills from Great Wrap, Stone Paper Starter Bundle from Karst, annual subscription to Dumbo Feather magazine, Mylk Bases Bundle from Ulu Hye, a twin pack from The Swag and 6 cases of Heaps Normal.
Note: Voting is open to audiences globally. Only one vote per person.
Murdoch University’s Building 360: getting renewable, circular buildings to scale, through sustainable design, supply chain partnership in Australia and New Zealand and world-first robotics innovation.
Mass Engineered Timber (MET) buildings can be exemplar in circularity by using local renewable materials, designing out waste through modular design and construction, and reducing the carbon footprint of materials. However, due to their innovative nature in Australia and New Zealand, the price of MET buildings can be perceived as a barrier.
In engineering WA’s largest MET building, Aurecon challenged traditional mindsets around financial viability through:
- Engagement with the ANZ timber industry to identify risks, challenges and opportunities with timber construction
- A world-first robotics technology trial provided proof of concept to increase construction efficiency and safety
https://www.aurecongroup.com
Ferrars & York demonstrates our strong belief that the buildings we choose to build and live in can drive the positive impact our cities deserve.
Networks of Circular Economy Villages that strive towards self-sufficiency and zero waste within their bioregion
Botanicals: Sculptural artworks that tell the interwoven story of Gin botanicals, colours influenced by mixology and the humble 44 gallon drum.
Kintsugi Light transforms trash into art and function with golden repair.
16 million+ single-use plastic items destined for landfill, rescued and recycled by Great Plastic Rescue; advancing the circular economy by lowering barriers to widespread participation.
Great Plastic Rescue is an innovative circular campaign giving banned single-use plastics, destined for the dump; a more useful, valuable lifespan. We provide wholesalers, distributors, retailers, businesses and not-for-profits an alternate end-of-life option for their now obsolete and illegal stock. Supported by our collaborative ecosystem approach - we rescue, sort and aggregate surplus stock by polymer type to avoid downcycling and identify values-aligned offtake partners for reprocessing. Our innovative partnerships with governments, universities, recyclers and advanced manufacturers enables our circular vision. Our mission is to turn 100,000kg of recyclable plastics into Australian-made, longer-life, higher-value products by the end of 2022.
https://www.instagram.com/greatplasticrescue/
https://www.greatplasticrescue.co
Sky's the Limit - The Community Program having a positive effect on trouble children, motivating them to make the positive lifestyle choices while improving their academic and social outcomes.
The Free Store that rescues furniture to create happy homes for our most vulnerable.
Responsible Cafes: fighting the war on waste and winning!
Experience CHIA, we make Circular Fashion habits accessible so you can move from awareness to ACTION.
Meet CHIA, a futuristic, green-coloured retail space, giving the word green a whole new meaning. Our mission? Making sustainable habits accessible to inspire people to move from awareness to action and say f**k fast-fashion. CHIA brings the slow fashion movement with a curation of brands part of the Fashion Revolution. The store has community focus initiatives including a pre-loved rack, a selection of rental dresses, and certified organic plastic-free skincare. Designed with sustainability in mind, the fit out is crafted with innovative materials including hempcrete furniture, recycled plastic hangers, magnesia cement bench tops, and upcycled terry-towel curtains.
https://www.instagram.com/chia.au/
https://www.chiaswim.com.au
Did you know that Traditional Beauty Products contain 80-95% water? That is a lot of water being shipped around the world when water is life! Not only this is wasted water, but it also has a massive impact on packaging and carbon footprint What you put in your bathroom cupboard, could be your first step towards a more sustainable future. At Dust&Glow we took the water, plastic waste & nonsense out, creating sensorial formulations for a healthy glow & happy planet! The result? Clean, Vegan, Cruelty free, Refillable, NZ Made skincare & haircare formulas re-imagined in a powder form.
STUFF makes simple, healthy grooming products for men - and buying STUFF helps fund life-changing mental health programs for young men through its charity partner, The Man Cave.
The product range is vegan, cruelty-free and made in Australia from highest quality ingredients. STUFF is available to purchase via websiteofstuff.com, as well as in Woolworths, The Iconic, Shaver Shop and hundreds of independent grocery and pharmacy accounts.
STUFF's content and marketing aims to showcase a diverse range of masculinity to evolve stereotypes, and offer men a relatable brand they can trust.
STUFF is also proud to be a certified B Corp.
Every child will churn through 14,000 baby wipes in the first few years of life -these take decades to break down due to the synthetic fibres they contain. Coupled with skin irritations, needing to repurchase every week and frankly, being absolutely terrible at cleaning (but fantastic at smearing!), they are one very ineffective and environmentally damaging product that can easily be easily switched out for our baby wipes system. Buy once and you'll be using this kit for years to come for multiple children. Whether using cloth nappies or disposables, this kit is a must have for all parents.
At Pure Oasis, we believe in the beauty of the planet, which is why we use premium, sustainable materials and ingredients. Our entire range of natural skincare is Australian made, cruelty free, vegan and bottled in low waste packaging, so your skin can benefit from naturally inspired ingredients without harming the environment. And because we love our planet, we’ll plant a tree for every product sold to help offset carbon emissions and offer sustainable refills to save on plastic waste.
Rox Lox is reducing plastic and pollutant use and encouraging a sustainable circular economy within the currently highly toxic and wasteful hair and beauty industry. From high level salons down to everyday consumers, we encourage and support clean and green solutions from the top by creating high performing products formulated by a professional hairdresser. Leaving big industry brands to have to follow suit.
Sustainable Salons was created because of unfathomable waste being produced from the hair, beauty, dermal, barbers & pet groomer industries.
We created a solution that enables businesses to become instantly sustainable. Bins for each resource stream diverts 95% of their waste away from landfill. All resources are taken to our depots across ANZ, processed, and with our partners created into closed-loop products like medical wigs, combs, pet leashes, plant pots, oil-spill soaking hair booms etc. We employ the differently-abled, and proceeds from recycled resources are 100% donated.
We've diverted 1.2 million+ kgs worth of resources away from landfill since 2015.
Disrupting the beauty industry and tackling the single-use plastic problem in a category which contributes significantly to our planet’s plastic pollution, Zero Co has innovated the world’s first single-use plastic (SUP) free and refillable body care range. The range includes shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and roll-on deodorant in the liquid format that consumers know and love. Utilising industry leading ingredients, free from silicones, parabens and EDTA and packaging that falls into Zero Co’s circular refill model, the company is changing the way both consumers and competitor brands think about packaging and consumption of our everyday products.
COVID reconfirmed the value of hand-washing and soap. We need soap but the way we make it is not sustainable. When we use soap we wash it down the drain and waste it. We are actually wasting the resources used to make the soap. Most soap is made from Palm oil, so we are effectively washing tropical forests and biodiversity down the drain. Fifoam soap is Australian made using a unique new oil recovered from organic waste. This stops the loss of forests and biodiversity, diverts organic waste from landfill and lowers methane emissions. It is local, circular and sustainable.
We’re working for a world where regenerative packaging empowers the people and the planet to thrive and create new growth.
Compostable packaging appears to be the new best option for the takeaway food/drink industry. Unfortunately the lack of local infrastructure to successfully process these products into compost, and the confusing messaging around their biodegradability, results in more waste to landfill and the environment.
As national plastic ban legislation evolves to include compostable products, Compostable Alternatives is on a mission to offer certified regenerative alternatives that break down into a nutritious compost in under 24 weeks without the need for dedicated facilities. Along with food waste, our solutions become a resource, foster community initiatives and encourage a circular economy.
Action-packed, fun entertainment for the younger demographic based on circular economy themes
Circular Manufacturing and Collection of Plastic - Defy the one way path to landfill!
Companies are still using virgin plastic when they could be using recycled plastic. 98% of new plastic products are made from virgin plastic. People want recycled plastic products but the current products available are low quality because the recycling system is broken. Defy makes high quality products using a system that works. The Defy recycling system manages each step of the process in one factory which ensures product quality throughout. the system scales globally by duplicating a modular factory. Currently we are replacing 1 tonne of virgin plastic each month and all the parts are designed to be recycled again.
https://www.defydesign.org/
Phantm is designing a plastic-free future with reusable products made from compostable and marine biodegradable natural materials.
Plastics and single-use, disposable practices are choking our ecosystems. As we shift towards reusable culture, have we considered the materials our reusable products are made from? PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates) is a natural material produced by microbes that feed on renewable feedstocks such as food waste. Phantm is collaborating with key players in the PHA industry globally to design solutions so Australians can buy truly regenerative products. Our first product, the Coffee Coffee Cup, made from spent coffee grounds and PHA is the first of many products made from materials that come from nature, and go back to nature, without a trace.
https://www.instagram.com/phantm.labs/
https://www.phantm.com/
The project investigates barriers and drivers for procurement of products with recycled content by public sector organisations, by understanding buyer, buying centre and organisational behaviours.