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Strategic direction
Sustainable development
Latest Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report
Monash Progress Report 2020
Monash Progress Report 2020 – Goal 12

Monash Progress Report 2020 – Goal 12

Monash University Progress Report 2020 on the Sustainable Development Goals

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Research

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Waste and circular economy collaboration View

Monash University’s BehaviourWorks Australia team, together with its consortium partners, have been working to help fix Australia’s ongoing waste crisis by engaging with industry and government to explore how behaviour change science can help Australians reduce waste, recycle more and accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

In 2020, results were shared online of research projects looking to explore and better understand how behavioural insights can be used to encourage households, businesses and the whole Australian community to avoid, reduce, reuse and recycle waste and improve the livability and sustainability of our cities and regions.

2020 Publications Performance View

Mean Field Weighted Citation Impact of Monash Outputs: 1.87

Number of Monash Research Outputs: 109

Education

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ARC Training Centre for Green Chemistry in Manufacturing View

In 2020, Monash Science received $3.6 million in Federal Government funding to establish a dedicated Australian Research Council (ARC) training centre to advance green chemistry in manufacturing.

The ARC Training Centre for Green Chemistry in Manufacturing is an interdisciplinary research and training environment centred on green and sustainable chemistry. The Centre, comprising of university, industry, government authorities and key industry bodies, aims to transform and revitalise Australian Manufacturing through the adoption of green and sustainable chemical technologies.

Monash Association of Sustainability View

The Monash Association of Sustainability (MAS) is a student-led association committed to leading and inspiring the Monash student community to learn more about sustainability, and to explore how sustainability principles and practices can be embedded into their behaviour both on and off campus.

Precious Plastics Monash View

Precious Plastic Monash is a multidisciplinary group of students, a chapter of a world wide community, Precious Plastic, that aims to tackle and provide solutions to the ever growing presence of plastic pollution. Their main focus areas are education, community and design, including demonstrating the value of plastic by designing innovative solutions to repurpose plastic and create plastic alternatives.

Unit statistics and highlights View

In 2020, 105 units directly related to SDG12 were offered across Monash University, with a total enrolment of 10,855 students.

The units highlighted below are a small sample of the units at Monash relating to responsible consumption and production:

ATS3563 Global consumption
ENE2503 Materials properties and recycling
MGF5691 Sustainable operations and supply chain management

Engagement

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A Lens on plastic waste View

Monash Lens aims to bring into sharp focus the work being undertaken by our research and academic communities and the impact that work is having on a global scale. Through articles, podcasts, and documentaries, Monash Lens is tackling what it will take to address the plastic waste crisis through circular economy approaches.

Circular textile economy View

The Circular Fashion team at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute is looking at what can be done to transition the Australian fashion industry to a circular economy. In 2020, the team undertook work for the Victorian Government to map the views of industry on the circular economy in Australia, and analyse the gaps between what industry is saying it needs and current government policy. It also worked with the Australian Fashion Council to publish a series of articles on the fashion industry and the SDGs.

Revitalising the Citarum River and riverine communities View

Monash, Universitas Indonesia and the West Java Provincial government, have been working to explore ways to stop solid waste and wastewater entering the Citarum River, one of the world’s most polluted rivers. The solution: Community-led co-design of nature-based systems to collect, clean and utilise wastewater and solid waste, through urban design, behaviour, circular economy and river stewardship. The team spent 2020 scoping challenges in the Citarum basin, building partnerships with government, academia and communities, and developing funding proposals to put the project into action.

Operations

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Monash Green Impact View

In 2020, the Green Impact program attracted more than 260 staff in 49 teams and implemented more than 2,017 actions across multiple campuses and sites. Teams worked to drive positive environmental change within their local areas through a range of activities focused on climate action, resources, mobility, health and wellbeing, engagement and change, and urban ecosystems.

This year also saw the successful introduction of a working from home section to ensure staff could still engage with the program while not in the office.

Waste and recycling View

The University produced 3,546 tonnes of waste in 2019-20, a 30.7% decrease on 2018-19. A total of 1,167 tonnes of waste was recycled. The reduced staff and student load on campus due to COVID-19 resulted in a significant reduction in waste generation from the campuses. The amount of waste recycled increased from 29% in 2018-19 to 33% of total waste generated in 2019-2020.

Circular economy strategy View

Monash University has committed to: establish a five-year circular economy plan to minimise waste to landfill and transition from co-mingled recycling to 'close the loop' on valuable materials through a range of better business practices and infrastructure investment; eliminate single-use retail plastics across all its Australian campuses by 2023; and implement a food organic waste program to divert organic waste from landfill.

Reuse View

The Monash University Reuse Centre furniture reuse store was established in 2010 and since 2012 has reused over 18,000 items diverting 500+ tonnes of furniture and equipment from landfill. Monash faculties and departments are encouraged to donate surplus furniture to the centre rather than storing or throwing away. In turn the program also offers departments, staff, students and the public quality furniture at savings of between 60-90% off the recommended retail price.