Dr Chamari Pushpamali Narayana Naidelage

Chamari is a researcher in the circular economy, sustainability, and supply chain management. Before joining the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, Chamari was attached to the Centre for Policy Futures at the University of Queensland, where she engaged in several circular economy related projects and reports. She engaged in the Circular Economy for Business pilot program collaboratively conducted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland and the Queensland Government, along with the Univerity of Queensland, as a Senior Research Assistant and was the leading author of the Circular Economy Chapter of the report "Disaster and Climate Resilience through Development Minerals" for the Fiji government. She has co-authored several research articles on the circular economy and supply chain management. She completed her PhD, which received the Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award from the Queensland University of Technology in 2021. Also, she had served as a lecturer in Sri Lankan universities before coming to Australia. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (CLSSBB). 

In her tenure at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, she currently engages in a systematic review of the trend of speeding up the development of critical and energy transition minerals projects to meet the gap between the demand for critical commodities and the supply of resources. 

This trend is controversial. While some organisations demand this practice, some stakeholders advocate against it by highlighting its harmful impact on nature and society. In her review, she collects and analyses governments', organisations', and people's current practices and discussions on this space to gain insight into fast-tracking mineral development projects.  

The Circular Economy for Business (CE4B) pilot program that Chamari actively engaged in supported three small and medium enterprises of Queensland that engage in different industry sectors such as fast fashion, timber and soil to initiate circular economy practices. 

During her service at the Centre for Policy Futures, she engaged in collaborative projects with organisations and authorities such as Small and Medium Enterprises, The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland, and Sustainable Minerals Institute. In addition, she has contributed to several research grant proposals developed collaboratively with researchers at the University of Queensland and the industry.