Blog icon

Dr Heinz Schandl

Senior Principal Research Scientist

https://people.csiro.au/S/H/Heinz-Schandl

Contact

Please enter a valid first name

Please enter a valid last name

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter your message to send to the contact

Contact details:

Biography

I am a senior expert in sustainability and environmental policy research with over twenty years of experience supporting evidence-based decision-making within complex governance settings. My work has concentrated on the sustainable management of natural resources, circular economy transitions, and the integration of environmental, economic, and social factors into public policy. I have worked extensively with governments, industry and international bodies to provide independent analysis, authoritative reports, and long-term strategic insights in the public interest.

I bring strong analytical judgment, systems thinking, and a thorough understanding of how sustainability objectives can be integrated into governance, regulation, and institutional practices. My experience covers global, national, and sub-national levels, with a strong appreciation for the importance of transparency, accountability, and independent scrutiny in achieving lasting environmental outcomes.

Selected achievments and impacts

• Directly shaped Australian waste and circular economy policy through contributions to the waste export ban policy development and delivery of national circular economy roadmaps for plastics, tyres, glass, and paper, developed in partnership with government and industry stakeholders.

• Established nationally consistent metrics for circular economy monitoring, leading the development of Australian indicators for measuring progress in circularity and supporting federal and state agencies in strengthening data, reporting, and accountability frameworks. These metrics are contributing to the Treasury's 'Measuring What Matters' wellbeing framework.

• Informed national industrial and manufacturing policy by contributing to the Recycling and Clean Energy Taskforce under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative and coordinating CSIRO’s strategic response to circular economy opportunities for waste reduction, regional economic development, and employment.

• Provided strategic leadership for institutional coordination by leading CSIRO’s Circular Economy Research Initiative, aligning research strategy across seven research units to deliver coherent, policy-relevant outcomes.

• Supported the development of national policy frameworks through contributions to the Australian National Circular Economy Policy Framework, including the selection of indicators and development of transition targets to guide long-term implementation.

• Established the evidence base for global and regional resource governance by leading the first authoritative assessment of natural resource use and emissions in Asia and the Pacific and contributing to the UNEP International Resource Panel’s global material flows and resource productivity assessments. These analyses underpin contemporary understanding of global resource dynamics and continue to inform government policy development and industry decision-making.

• Strengthened policy capacity in developing economies through leading assessments of institutional and analytical capabilities for sustainable resource management for UNEP and supporting ESCAP in identifying systemic risks and policy opportunities in the natural resource domain across Asia and the Pacific.

• Enabled regional policy coordination on sustainable materials management by supporting the establishment of the ASEAN Resource Panel and the Regional 3R Forum for Asia and the Pacific, helping shift policy focus from end-of-life waste management towards integrated, life-cycle-based materials management approaches.

• Contributed to global sustainability governance frameworks through research and policy briefs that informed the recognition of Sustainable Consumption and Production as a standalone objective in the Sustainable Development Goals, and that continue to support monitoring and progress under SDG 8.4 (resource efficiency) and SDG 12.2 (sustainable management of natural resources).

• Advanced conceptual and analytical frameworks for sustainability policy by establishing the socio-economic metabolism paradigm within the international industrial ecology community, providing a systems-based foundation for analysing coupled social, economic, and environmental dynamics in policy contexts.

• Informed high-level policy choices through integrated scenario analysis by leading multi-model assessments of resource efficiency and greenhouse gas mitigation pathways for G7 economies, the International Resource Panel’s Global Resources Outlook, and the Australian National Outlook, supporting long-term strategic decision-making.

Professional Areas

Current Roles

  • Member
    ACT Climate Change Council

  • Committee Member
    Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation Collective Action Group

  • Member
    Australian Institute of Company Directors

  • Member
    International Society of Industrial Ecology

  • Associate Editor
    Circular Economy and Sustainability

  • Advisory Board Member
    Development Alternatives, New Delhi, India

  • Associate Editor
    Journal of Industrial Ecology

  • Editorial Board Member
    Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management

  • Editorial Board Member
    Resources, Conservation and Recycling

  • Adjunct Professor
    Graduate School of Environmental Studies, University of Nagoya, Japan

  • Expert Member
    United Nations International Resource Panel

  • Expert Member
    UNCRD Expert Group of the Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific

Academic Qualifications

  • 2001

    PhD in Sociology
    University of Vienna, Austria

  • 1997

    MA in Social and Economic Sciences
    University of Vienna, Austria

Professional Experiences

  • 2024-2025

    Advisory Board Member
    Australian Circular Economy Hub

  • 2021-2025

    Steering Group Member
    Ending Plastics Waste Mission

  • 2021-2024

    Initiative Lead
    Waste Impact Management Mission Lead Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub of the National Environmental Science Program (NESP)

  • 2019-2021

    President
    International Society of Industrial Ecology (ISIE)

  • 2016-2019

    Honorary Associate Professor
    Australian National University (ANU) Fenner School of Environment and Society

  • 2016-2016

    Chair
    Gordon Research Conference Industrial Ecology

  • 2013-2016

    Adjunct Associate Professor
    Australian National University (ANU) School of Sociology

  • 2011-2014

    Council member
    International Society of Industrial Ecology (ISIE)

  • 2009-2011

    Adjunct Associate Professor
    Crawford School for Economics and Government, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

  • 2001-2006

    Assistant Professor
    Institute of Social Ecology, Alpen-Adria University, Vienna, Austria

  • 2005-2006

    Consultant
    OECD for Material Flows and Resource Productivity

  • 2004-2005

    Visiting Professor
    Department of Economics and Economic History, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain

  • 2003-2006

    Member
    Material Flow Analysis Methods Task Force of the European Statistical Office (EUROSTAT)

  • 1994-2001

    Researcher and Lecturer
    Institute of Social Ecology, Alpen-Adria University, Vienna, Austria

  • 1994-1996

    Research Fellow (part time)
    Institute for Legal and Criminal Sociology, Vienna, Austria

  • 1986-1994

    Primary School Teacher
    Free School Hofmuehlgasse, Vienna, Austria

Achievements and Awards

  • 2025-2025

    Society Prize. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field of Industrial Ecology
    International Society for Industrial Ecology