SisterWorks Inc
Shamila Gopalan is the Chief Commercial Officer at SisterWorks, a not-for-profit social enterprise that empowers women from migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking backgrounds through employment and entrepreneurship. With over 25 years of global commercial leadership experience, Shamila leads the organisation’s circular economy, manufacturing, and social procurement initiatives. She is passionate about transforming waste into opportunity — for both people and the planet. Under her leadership, SisterWorks has developed high-impact partnerships with industries like transport and sport, focusing on waste diversion, repurposed products, and economic empowerment. At the Zero Waste Festival, Shamila will share the journey of SisterWorks’ award-winning collaboration with the Richmond Football Club, showcasing how repurposing discarded club merchandise has created meaningful jobs, diverted textiles from landfill, and built community connection. She will be joined by Richmond’s GM of Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) to discuss how zero-waste practices can be embedded into the fabric of major institutions.