Grow. Promote. Protect. Forum 2026. Panel: Going around in circles

Hosted by the Australian Furnishing Industry Stewardship Council, Australian Furniture Association and RMIT University, and running over February 24 and 25, Grow. Promote. Protect. Forum 2026 built on the momentum of recent Commonwealth and State-funded research projects that have identified key recommendations for industry growth. This episode is from a day one panel session, including guests Esther Bailey, Chief Operating Officer at Rebuilt; Damien Crough, Executive Chairman at prefabAUS; Rosanna Iacono, CEO, The Growth Activist; Lisa McLean, Managing Director & CEO, Circular Australia; Kylie Roberts-Frost, CEO, Australian Bedding Stewardship Council. The moderator is Michelle Thomas, Chief Operating Officer, AFISC. Episode guide 0:02 – Introduction to the session. 1:52 – Introduction to the panellists. 4:52 – Why procurement is important to lifting circularity outcomes. 5:45 – Australia's “ridiculously low” current circularity rate. 8:22 – Prefabrication/modern methods of construction as an enabler of profitability in the building sector. 9:00 – Design for manufacture, assembly and disassembly in construction. 10:05 – You take waste out by working with your supply chain. 11:20 – The smart building value chain and the seven links within that, led by design and planning. 14:20 A project between prefabAUS and RMIT University for architects developing a tool for architects to make better purchasing decisions. 14:45 – The issue of mattress waste and voluntary vs mandated stewardship. 16:55 – Where the burden of waste stewardship sits. 17:50 – What mandates mean for commercial sustainability. 19:40 – An explanation of EPR. If you’re responsible for what happens at a product’s end of life, then you’ll design it accordingly. 21:05 – Embodied carbon and reporting and how it’s changing expectations. 22:40 – The importance of peak bodies in the circularity/decarbonisation discussions. 27:10 – Using sustainability credentials strategically to differentiate from fast furniture. 30:05 – Starting with the big picture before narrowing down to practical implementation. Plus four pillars to stewardship. 32:02 – The importance of a maturity audit. 33:20 – Getting into “pilot scale and repeat” mode. 34:25 – “If it’s not in your design guidelines and not in your procurement guidelines, it’s just a wish.” 35:40 – The importance of ESG in talent engagement, attraction and retention. 37:02 – A question from the floor on latex mattresses, recyclability and EPR. 40:40 – A question from the floor on mattresses and a servitisation business model. 42:39 – Circular businesses, products-as-a-service and financial measures. 44:12 – The sources of embedded carbon in products. 45:20 – Why servitisation is the future. 47:50 – “The end of ownership” and attitude shifts among young people. 48:50 – Taking back products and closing the loop, and some of the difficulties around this. 51:10 – The challenges around logistics and costs have seen steel amounting to “over 3,000 tonnes in Queensland in the last 12 months” landfilled rather than recycled by Infrabuild, Bluescope or others. “A national disgrace.” 52:50 – “Recycling is the hero of the linear economy”. 53:10 – A question from the floor on recycling claims versus what is actually recycled. 54:30 – “One of the biggest examples of greenwashing we have in the retail space...” 56:55 – Remanufacturing is inexplicably tied to local recycling. An example of this in the fashion industry, plus the importance of a precinct strategy in this.