ARC
Sustainability Lunch 2026
Brought to you by Australia Post
Closing the loop:
Turning circularity into competitive advantage
ARC’s Sustainability Lunch in Melbourne brings together leaders from Australia’s retail and consumer goods sector to explore circularity within retail.
This year’s lunch features an Expert Panel, plus an exclusive Fireside Chat and new report release from global policy and advisory firm Baringa.
Retailers are increasingly challenged to rethink how products and packaging are designed, sourced, consumed and recovered as sustainability expectations evolve across government, customers and investors. At the same time, businesses are juggling a range of challenges including affordability, competitiveness, and the rise of agentic AI.
This event will explore:
- How retailers are redesigning products, packaging, supply chains and business models to reduce waste, improve resource efficiency, and unlock new circular commercial opportunities.
- Moving beyond compliance-led approaches to embed sustainability and circular economy principles into long-term commercial strategy, operational decision-making and customer engagement.
- Lessons in Australia and internationally on effective product stewardship, Extended Producer Responsibility, and circular economy policy design.
- Real-world implementation, scalable solutions, evolving regulation and the role for industry leadership to drive meaningful and measurable outcomes.
Fireside chat & report release from Baringa
Baringa will release a new report at this year’s ARC Sustainability Lunch – drawing on global Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) case studies to provide practical guidance for policymakers, retailers, producers, and the broader packaging ecosystem on how Australia can advance circular economy outcomes without disproportionate cost burdens or competitiveness impacts.
The findings will be launched through an exclusive fireside chat between Geri McMahon and Glenn Fahey – delivering a critical evidence base for industry and policymakers at exactly the right moment.
This event is brought to you by ARC’s strategic partner Australia Post.
Panel speakers
Barry Cosier
Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia (SPSA)
Alice Kuepper
Founding Board Director
Coalition for Sustainable Solutions (COFOSS)
Head of Sustainability
Winning Group
Blake Lindley
Head of Sustainability
Kmart Group
Richard Pittard
Chief Sustainability Officer
Australia Post
Fleur Brown
Chief Industry Engagement Officer
Australian Retail Council
Fireside Chat
Geri McMahon
Partner, Sustainability Practice Lead
Baringa
Glenn Fahey
Chief Policy Officer & Chief Economist
Australian Retail Council
Event details
Event Tickets -
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Get your event tickets today!
Early Bird - Single Ticket
29 July 2026 @ 11:30 am – 02:30 pm
Non Member: $249.00
Single Ticket
29 July 2026 @ 11:30 am – 02:30 pm
Speaker lineup
You will hear insights from an exceptional speaker lineup including:
Barry Cosier
Chief Executive Officer
Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia (SPSA)
Barry Cosier
Barry Cosier has over 30 years’ experience in both the Resource Recovery and Recycling Industry and in the Food and Grocery Industry. Like many, he started his working career packing shelves in supermarkets while at university. Since then, he has worked for multinational grocery companies, was CEO of a privately owned Australian food manufacturing company and represented small to medium enterprises on the Australian Food and Grocery Council board.
He then moved to the Resource Recovery industry and was involved in Council contracts, collections, MRF processing and was a member of various state government Industry Advisory Panels.
While Director of Sustainability at the Australian Food and Grocery Council he led the development of the National Plastics Recycling Scheme (NPRS). was an Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) board member, and a member of the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) Resource Recovery Reference Groups.
Alice Kuepper
Coalition for Sustainable Solutions (COFOSS)
Head of Sustainability
Winning Group
Alice Kuepper
Alice Kuepper is a Founding Board Director of the Coalition for Sustainable Solutions (COFOSS) and a recognised sustainability leader within Australia’s retail and consumer goods sector, known for driving practical, industry-led approaches to circularity and sustainable business transformation.
In addition to her industry leadership roles, Alice is Head of Sustainability at Winning Group, where she established the organisation’s first sustainability function, embedding ESG into business strategy and operations and helping the business stay ahead of evolving regulatory, customer and stakeholder expectations.
Her work spans responsible sourcing, climate action, circularity, community engagement and reconciliation, with a strong focus on collaboration and scalable outcomes across industry. Alice also serves on the Circular Australia Industry Taskforce, contributing to national conversations around circular economy policy and implementation.
She holds a Master’s in Sociology from the University of Munich and a Certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard Business School, bringing a global perspective and a commercially grounded approach to sustainability leadership. Blake Lindley
Head of Sustainability
Kmart Group
Blake Lindley
Blake Lindley is Head of Sustainability at Kmart Group, leading the sustainability agenda across Kmart, Target and the Anko global sourcing business spanning Australia, New Zealand and Asia. His background combines technical expertise in life cycle assessment, carbon accounting and resource economics with enterprise-scale commercial leadership.
With more than 15 years’ experience in industry associations, retail and consulting he has contributed to an extensive suite of projects in carbon markets and the circular economy. Blake specialises in embedding sustainability in large-scale organisations, policymaking, and supply chain.
Geri McMahon
Partner, Sustainability Practice Lead
Baringa
Geri McMahon
Geri leads Baringa’s cross-cutting Sustainability practice in Australia. She is passionate about helping organisations influence, shape and deliver meaningful, real-world change. Geri supports clients across sectors to understand and embed key sustainability considerations – including climate change, nature and biodiversity, human rights and broader social responsibility – into their strategy and operations. She brings international experience across the UK, Australia and Asia Pacific, working with a wide range of organisations to drive impactful outcomes.
Richard Pittard
Chief Sustainability Officer
Australia Post
Richard Pittard
Richard is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Australia Post; a government business enterprise that plays a critical role connecting communities across Australia. Leading the team responsible for developing and embedding the sustainability strategy, Richard drives the integration of sustainability priorities within the enterprise strategy to achieve lasting change.
With almost 30 years’ experience dedicated to sustainability, climate change and environment, Richard’s background spans various roles in listed organisations, professional services as well as industrial and consumer product sectors
Richard is a passionate believer that integrating sustainability values and principles into business strategy is essential to creating long-term value and resilience.
Glenn Fahey
Australian Retail Council (ARC)
Glenn Fahey
Glenn Fahey is the Chief Policy Officer and Chief Economist at the Australian Retail Council, where he leads policy and economic analysis.
Prior to joining the Australian Retail Council, Glenn held senior policy leadership roles in Australia’s think-tank sector, as well as holding research and policy positions at the Australian Treasury, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Institute for Public Policy and Governance.
Glenn is a regular contributor to public debate through media commentary, opinion writing and stakeholder engagement, and is known for translating research into practical policy solutions.
He holds qualifications in economics and public policy and maintains active interests in applied research, governance and institutional reform.
Fleur Brown
Chief Industry Engagement Officer
Australian Retail Council (ARC)
Fleur Brown
Fleur leads the Industry Affairs portfolio for ARC which encompasses policy and advocacy, media, marketing, events and partnerships. Fleur has worked as an executive leader in government, media, marketing industries and prior to joining the ARA ran the award-winning Launch Group agency which was responsible government and investor relations, advocacy and media management for many leading Australian brands and public entities.
With a rich background in technology and innovation, she is a former Director of TechSydney, a founding team member of StartupAUS (now Tech Council Australia) a founding director of TEDxSydney and founder and producer the Nine Network’s Entrepreneurs TV show. Fleur is author of the business book The Business of Being You.
Presenting partner
About Australia Post
We’re Australia’s oldest continually operating organisation. We contribute to Australia’s economic growth and prosperity and reinvest in the community to advance our enterprise purpose: Helping our people, customers and communities deliver a better future. Everyone, Everywhere, Every day.
Event partner
