Transformative Technologies and Trends Shaping Australia and New Zealand in 2025

Key Innovations and Challenges in Waste, Sustainability, Wind Energy, and Construction

Estimated reading time:? 4 minutes

Written by: Judith Harrington , Tiarnan McCaughan , Eoin Hughes , Samantha Warner , Sophie O'Grady , Niall Casey and Libby Ryan

Waste

In the Waste sector, the focus in Australia for 2025 is on meeting the ambitious 2025 National Packaging Targets, which were laid out in 2018. The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is the organisation charged by the federal government to facilitate the delivery of the 2025 Targets, to be achieved by 31 December 2025.

The 4 targets to be achieved by the end of 2025 are:

·????? 100% of packaging being reusable, recyclable or compostable

·????? 70% of plastic packaging being recycled or composted

·????? 50% average recycled content included in packaging

·????? The phase out of problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging

While progress has been made since 2018, despite the efforts made by Australian industry the latest data shows it is unlikely that the 2025 National Packaging Targets will be met by the end of this year, with delays in infrastructure delivery being cited as a cause of this, and an opportunity for specialist companies.

State governments have also set their own targets to be achieved by the end of this year, with Victoria aiming to reduce landfill emissions by 20%, ACT aiming to divert 90% of waste from landfills by 2025 and Tasmania setting a number of targets related to waste generation, landfill reduction and resource recovery.

In New Zealand, the government is also phasing out some single-use plastics and hard-to-recycle food and drink packaging by the end of this year.

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Sustainability

2025 will see the long-anticipated introduction of mandatory climate reporting in Australia, which will require companies to prepare a sustainability report including a climate statement alongside their annual financial reports.

From 1 January 2025, The Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill passed in 2024 by the federal government has come into law making sustainability reporting, which has been done on a voluntary basis for a number of years, mandatory and standardised.

The sustainability report will require companies to disclose their Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 (direct, indirect and supply chain) greenhouse gas emissions and explain how a range of future climate scenarios could impact their business, including scenarios in which there are increases in global average temperatures of 1.5°C or 2°C.

For the moment, this legislation will only apply to Australia’s largest companies with revenues of over $500 million, gross assets of over $1 billion or over 500 staff, however by mid-2027 it will extend to companies generating $50 million in revenue, with $25 million in gross assets or 100 staff.

These new requirements will create opportunities for companies with software tools to support climate reporting as well as greentech and climate-related products and services helping companies to reduce their emissions.

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Wind Energy

As we begin 2025, more than 50 wind farm projects are in various stages of development in Australia. Currently, wind energy contributes about 10% to Australia's total electricity supply but this is expected to rise in 2025 as new developments come online.

This year, the Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), a large-scale wind and solar hybrid renewable energy project located in the Pilbara region of north-west Western Australia will begin the first phase of electricity production with up to 26 GW of energy expected to be generated annually from its 1,743 wind turbines by 2036.

Final investment decisions are expected this year in other planned large scale wind farms including Murchison Renewable Hydrogen Project in WA, the North Queensland Super Hub and Collinsville Green Energy Hub in North Queensland.

On offshore, work will continue in the six offshore wind development sites in Victoria, New South Wales and now Western Australia with the decision late last year to announce?Bunbury?as the latest offshore wind development zones. This year’s federal election may however impact on plans with the opposition declaring their intention to scrap half of the offshore renewable zones including the Port Stephens offshore wind zone in the Hunter Region.

Construction

After many years of strong growth, Australia’s infrastructure pipeline remains significant but is showing signs of deceleration. The recent wave of projects in renewable or clean energy supply and in water may have peaked and this freed up capacity may be seen in other sectors.

Residential construction may remain weak with only 0.9% growth projected in 2025 according to Australian Construction Industry Forum (ACIF). Inflated input prices, recent industrial relations changes higher than anticipated interest rates are continuing to depress the sector. Policymakers however are keen to accelerate the rate of residential construction with the National Housing Accord setting a lofty target of 1.2 million new, well-located homes by 2029. Australia is currently off target to achieve this number so policymakers will be looking at planning reforms and more federal investment in social and affordable housing to accelerate the pace.