Select Page

We are thrilled to share that the Conservation Council ACT Region won the Sustainable Event award for our CBR360 Circular Economy Symposium 2022 at the ACT Government’s 2023 Climate Choices Business Awards!

The CBR360 Symposium was the brainchild of previous Executive Director Helen Oakey, brought to reality in September 2022 by project manager Kirsten Duncan, events manager Brooke Farr and communications manager Jahnavi Samprathi, with the full support of the Council’s Board. The objective was to showcase Canberra’s circular economy innovators, share knowledge and build momentum for circularity in Canberra’s economy and community.

We decided from the outset that the symposium had to exemplify the circular principles that would be the topic of discussion. Brooke did a wonderful job of working with Gather to provide locally-sourced vegetarian food, served without plastics or disposable items. Food waste was collected and composted by Capital Scraps. We avoided the wasteful “showbags” so common at conferences, and symposium passes were simply folded recycled paper on compostable paper string, printed with a QR code leading to online program and interactive resources for the day and beyond. We collaborated with all our stallholders to achieve the same standards. Participants were encouraged to arrive by active or public transport. Even our stage furniture was borrowed from the Buy Nothing community and The Green Shed.

We thank again the ACT Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, Dr Sophie Lewis, for co-hosting the symposium and providing the seed funding to get the project off the ground. Thanks also to all our amazing sponsors and partners for supporting and contributing to the success of the symposium in so many ways: The Green Shed, Light House Architecture & Science, Icon Water, GHD, Ginninderry, Deloitte, Limegreen Tangerine, Capital Brewing Co, Capital Scraps, Crux Media, Canberra Environment Centre, Gather catering, Zero Waste Revolution, Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence, Canberra Innovation Network, SEE-Change, Salon Canberra, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, and the ACT Government.

Kirsten scoured Canberra and beyond to gather all the brilliant and inspiring speakers who so generously shared their knowledge and passion for sustainability: Chris Steel, Violet Sheridan, Tim Hollo, Katherine Trebeck, Belinda Kendall, Lucas Carmody, Joel Edwards, Siwan Lovett, Sophia Hamblin Wang, Jessica Stewart, Chris Dennis, Simran Talwar, Julie Boulton, Kathy Ehmann, Michael Elias, Sandie Parkes, Katherine Harrington, Amardeep Wander, Emma Holliday, Heinz Schandl, Michael Brewer, Michael Trushell, Sophie Lewis and Dan Watters.

Lastly, thanks to the small army of enthusiastic volunteers who kept the event running so smoothly!

We also congratulate all the nominees and winners in the Climate Choices Business Awards! The variety of enterprises implementing sustainability projects and innovations is truly inspiring: from car mechanics to grocery stores, scout groups to major utility providers, construction companies to childcare services, hotels to charities, bicycle retailers to embassies. We encourage you to browse the awards website and show your support for all these local leaders, showing the world how its done!