Bega Valley’s circular economy ambitions point to smart economics, but the reality is tough

For decades, traditional economics framed environmental and social efforts as voluntary, “do-good” expenses. Now, as the climate crisis threatens supply chains, government regulations tighten, and consumer preferences shift, corporate economic security is tied to environmentalism.

One company leading the corporate green transition is the Australian-owned food and beverage company, Bega Group (formerly known as Bega Cheese).

At Bega Valley on the New South Wales south coast,  Bega Group is working with Regional Circularity Cooperative, the NSW government, Bega Valley Shire Council, and CSIRO to transform the agricultural region into the nation’s most circular economy by 2030. The Bega Valley Circular Program will test waste elimination methods for regional and global sustainability practices, analyse resource flows to help businesses reduce waste, and provide education and training through localised programs.

For corporations like Bega Group, the model’s findings will inform strategies to reduce waste-management costs, convert waste into new revenue streams, and lower energy expenses with resource efficiency.

“We think there’s a massive regional Australia economic opportunity in this,” Andrew Taylor, chief executive  of Regional Circularity Cooperative, said in an interview with The Fifth Estate.

In 2021, when the Bega Valley initiative was established, Australia’s Productivity Commission released a report encouraging corporations to shift from linear to circular models to “future proof” supply chains. The report estimated this transition could be a $1860 billion economic opportunity over 20 years.

The significance of these benefits underpins the work that the Regional Circularity Cooperative is doing in the shire.

Currently, dozens of targeted initiatives, including waste, agriculture, and carbon tracking, are being tested simultaneously in the Bega Valley. The area is being used as a “living lab,” with natural geographical boundaries on all sides, to measure, test, and scale these circular economy principles.

Regardless of their efforts, however, Taylor said, “It’s widely recognised we’ll never achieve full circularity.”

Due to material degradation limiting product reusability, the region’s imports and exports, and the impracticality of full-scale community involvement, a 100 per cent circular economy is not feasible in today’s world, he said.

Taylor said CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, estimates the area will achieve around 30 per cent circularity. The actual baseline analyses of this data will be more accurate in about 18 months with the completion of the regional circularity baseline assessment of material flows and development of the National Circularity Centre, a $19 million educational hub to showcase circularity strategies in Bega Valley.

By aiming high, the goal is to generate more enthusiasm to inform policies, communities, and business practices on a green transition.

“It’ll be better than aiming mediocre and then not quite meeting that goal,” he said. “If you aim high, and people can get behind it, and you start achieving, more people will listen.”

Beyond testing sustainable strategies, the initiative will also spearhead a circular value education program aiming to put circularity content in the classroom.

Taylor said the cooperative is working to educate students on sustainable practices “so that [economic] security becomes mainstream” and students can “understand what the jobs of the future might be.”

Since the program began, the operational necessity for a corporate green transition has only continued to grow.

Productivity Commission’s most recent report in January 2026 found Australia had the fourth-lowest materials productivity in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Australia generates just $US$1.20 ($1.69) per kilogram of materials consumed of economic output relative to an OECD benchmark of $US2.50 ($3.53). The gap indicates an inefficient, highly resource-intensive economy.

Commissioner Alison Roberts said that the level of waste being disposed of inefficiently is not only a public health concern, “but recovering the valuable metals it contains presents a significant economic opportunity”.

The report urged the government to take a more proactive, coordinated role to achieve this opportunity. Commissioner Dr Joanne Chong said this support would help “join the dots to develop new and innovative circular practices”.

In line with the report’s findings, Taylor said that while the Bega Valley circularity movement was sparked by community and corporate engagement, government involvement would aid the “fundamental needs” of the initiative, including resources and programs.

The support would also help expand outreach efforts to larger corporations, aligning with shared economic goals.

“There are things that make absolute sense when it comes to circularity,” Taylor said. “But sometimes you just need a little bit of seed funding to make it happen.”

While the NSW and federal governments have jointly provided $22.5 million in funding for the development of the National Circularity Centre, Taylor said the project has gained unexpectedly high levels of interest, and meeting that momentum has led the group to limit its operational expansion.

“In terms of the members, we would like new ones to join, but we don’t have the capacity to chase them,” he said.

“Collaboration is both the absolute success of what we’re doing, but it’s also one of the absolute challenges of what we’re doing.”

Short on human resources, Taylor said the Bega Valley initiative will focus on conducting baseline analyses and testing circular strategies within the valley. From there, the cooperative hopes others will follow.

“We just want to share that information and give people resources to be able to do it in their own region.”