ReGen, Australia’s newest Circular Resource Expo, promises two days of jam-packed sessions focusing on circularity and resources.
ReGen, Australia’s Circular Resource Expo is the premier national platform for professionals to join forces and work towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.
The expo will debut at ICC Sydney: International Convention & Exhibition Centre from 23-24 July 2025, and will unite Australia’s circular resource exhibitors, buyers and thought leaders.
Organised by Diversified Australia, ReGen is an evolution of what was previously known as the Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo (AWRE).
Ali Lawes, Event Director, says the theme for ReGen’s speaker program – Aligning for Regeneration: A Collective Movement for Sustainable Progress – defines the overall mission for the event.
“This theme recognises Diversified Australia’s role in representing ReGen for the first time and the expo being an amalgamation of two key leading events, the Circularity conference and Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo,” Ali says.
“This event will be a progression for both of those communities that are familiar with us to come together to better understand the importance in aligning for a sustainable future.”
For 15 years, AWRE was the premier business event for the entire circular resource, and economy supply chain, bringing together the industry’s best to help find waste and recycling solutions.
In early 2024, AWRE announced a rebrand to ReGen, reflecting the expo’s expanded scope and emphasis on the circular economy.
Circularity, presented by Planet Ark’s Australian Circular Economy Hub (ACE Hub) in partnership with Diversified Australia, showcases everything about the circular economy.
The program highlights innovative circular design, practices and research to drive the region’s economic growth. In 2025, Circularity will be incorporated into the ReGen program.
Ali says she hopes attendees will walk out of the event with an understanding that there is an opportunity for change.
“This event is a platform for all to come together annually to overcome the challenges of the waste industry and progress towards a circular economy,” she says.
“We hope it will be a platform for all to productively share insights, challenges and find solutions together.”
Ali says the free program is built around two key stages and will deliver practical insights and transformative ideas to help drive Australia towards the nation’s goals of doubling circularity by 2035.
“The Circularity Stage will focus on design innovation, policy, and research, driving forward-thinking solutions for a circular future,” she says.
“The Resource Stage will cover recovery, recycling, and residuals management, addressing the practical realities of resource stewardship.”
The leadership team
The ReGen Advisory Board is comprised of circular economy leaders from around Australia who, Ali says, have played a vital role in shaping ReGen’s two-day speaker series.
“The board is made up of key industry players who represent the different and diverse interests of our attendee mix,” she says.
“This group represents all of the areas our attendees are interested in. Some of them are industry partners who we’ve worked with for the past 15 years, some are people who we’ve also worked with during the Circularity conference.”
Ali believes the diverse panel represents the many sectors in the circular resource and economy supply chain and will result in a program that offers engaging discussions around key challenges and innovations within the circular economy.
A new chapter
To navigate the rebrand, Ali says Diversified Australia consulted Proto Partners, an external company, to deep dive into a research and development project.
Ali says this included direct one-on-one interviews with key industry stakeholders, and market-wide research. All in addition to the ReGen team reviewing attendee feedback from past events and their own strategy planning.
“With this additional data we were able to gauge an elevated understanding of what people want from future events in order to enable positive progression in this space,” she says.
To curate the speaker program, Ali and the team underwent an in-depth process to create a diverse and entertaining lineup for attendees.
“We organised a speaker program expression of interest (EOI) by inviting those in the space to make a submission, giving us a sense of what people are interested in seeing during the expo,” she says.
“After receiving the EOI’s, the second step was having our advisory board review the submissions, along with independent stage leads who took into consideration their expertise and our research.”
Ali says the speaker program has been finetuned to encompass all circular resource and economy supply chain sectors.
“Our speaker program will feature keynote speakers, expert-led panel discussions, and practical sessions, helping businesses and policymakers navigate the transition to a circular economy.”
For more information, visit: www.regenexpo.com.au
