Transformational Leadership
2025 AWARD WINNER
For 17 years, Adele Rose has tackled some of the hardest waste streams in the country – tyres, paint, car seats, agricultural chemicals, batteries and refrigerants.
As head of 3R Group she drives product stewardship and the circular economy forward through the design, implementation and management of schemes such as: Tyrewise, Resene PaintWise, SeatSmart, Agrecovery, Battery Industry Group, Refrigerant Recovery and the Glass Packaging Forum.
One of her most significant achievements is leading Tyrewise, New Zealand's first regulated product stewardship scheme. It has brought together over 5,000 participants across the entire tyre supply chain, including retailers, manufacturers, recyclers and councils.
Aotearoa New Zealand imports 6.5 million tyres each year. Tyrewise has created software, systems and processes to manage them all. This required extensive consultation and relationship building across the whole industry. By September 2025, one year after launching, nearly four million end-of-life tyres had been collected for recycling and repurposing.
Adele's vision is to facilitate partnerships that deliver the full potential of the circular economy to people, businesses and communities. She's taken product stewardship from an academic concept and turned it into a transformative tool for dealing with problematic waste streams.
She shares her expertise beyond 3R, serving on the Waste & Resource Efficiency Advisory Group, chairing the advisory group for circular economy research at Āmiomio Aotearoa, and holding the role of Deputy Chair of the Business NZ Board.
The judges said: "Adele Rose has shown impressive leadership over 17 years in building New Zealand’s product stewardship systems from the ground up. Her work on Tyrewise and other schemes has shifted the national conversation from waste management to resource recovery. A true pioneer whose vision continues to shape circular policy and practice."