The recent global challenges have created a growing appetite for change with an opportunity to build a clean, safe, and sustainable world. The focus is now on reshaping the planet and unlocking its true potential to tackle growing global and local concerns.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals set a target of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 with a rapid transition to clean renewable energy.
Jim Fairweather, chief executive officer of ResourceCo, and a leader with extensive experience in the sector, says there has never been such a sense of urgency and an accelerated effort to be future ready.
“We are definitely encouraged by the collective efforts to position the local resource recovery industry to become globally competitive, with recycling and clean energy being one of the six priority areas under the Australian Government’s $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing strategy,” says Fairweather.
The recent announcement of funding availability under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) creates strong opportunities for Australian manufacturers be more competitive, resilient and build scale in the global market.
Complementing global efforts to tackle growing environmental concerns, the federal and state governments of Australia have stepped up their focus on and commitment to investment in an effort to encourage a repositioning of the resource recovery industry.
“Living true to our brand promise that we have an obligation to leave the planet in a better state than we found it, ResourceCo has continued to innovate, expand and invest in its remanufacturing capabilities over the past 30 years,” says Fairweather.
“That’s always been done with a strong eye on ensuring our operations have a positive impact on the communities in which we operate and live.”
The roadmap for recycling and clean energy released in April 2021 exemplifies the opportunities across recycling and clean energy to make Australian manufactures world leaders. It sets the framework for successfully building on growing global demand for green, clean products and collaborating across material and energy supply chains to mobilise large scale investments.
fuel (TDF) and rubber crumb.
Fairweather says that as a global leader in resource recovery and the production of renewable energy, ResourceCo is well positioned to steer a growth pathway through 2021 and beyond.
“We’re focused on providing innovative solutions and scaling up our operations in a way that builds on our strong track record in delivering sustainable economic, environmental and socially responsible outcomes.
“To achieve that we have increased the sophistication of our plants and machinery, ultimately expanding our capacity to cater to growing local and global demand and further support the roll-out of the waste export bans.”
“We have invested over $40 million on new plants and machinery in what is the most ambitious capital investment program in our history, with new plants planned for Sydney, Perth, and the Pilbara this year.”
That includes the launch of a new multi-million-dollar plant at Eskine Park in Sydney for ResourceCo’s tyre recycling division Tyrecycle. It will expand the company’s production capacity for tyre-derived-fuel (TDF) and rubber crumb (used in road construction), ahead of the December 2021 ban on the export of whole-baled tyres.
Fairweather is optimistic that the support from the federal government in tackling barriers in a coordinated way, through initiatives such as the export ban, will go a long way towards driving strong commercial and environmental outcomes that support job creation.
“We’re also encouraged to see the roadmap acknowledge the importance of a commitment by government agencies to consider environmental sustainability and the use of recycled content in purchasing decisions,” he says.
“As the world moves rapidly to more sustainable ways of using earth’s limited resources to reduce emissions and waste, we all need to remain agile and relevant.”
This article originally appeared in the June edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.
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