Cir­cu­lar Eco­nom­ies for Sustain­ability (on­line course)

Course content

Course content and structure

The concept of the circular economy (CE) has been proposed as the panacea for addressing the predicaments of climate change. By moving from open linear supply chains to closed circuits within inter-organizational networks, the promise is that CE will transform the global economy from the current take-make-waste paradigme to novel forms of secondary resource flows, which retain value in closed loops without leaks. This would elimiate waste altogher and reinvent how we produce and consume from the ground up. This course offers critical insights into the how, the what and the why of this grand idea.

Attracting increased attention from businesses, governments and civil society, the CE is an emerging field of study. This course presents the leading strategies for circular transitions and the knowledge frontiers of CE. While the course will introduce conceptual approaches to circularity, it is strongly case based. The aim is to equip students with a tool kit to better understand why leading corporations and major cities have pledged their commitment to the circular economy.

Going beyond circularity as "cost reduction" in operations management, as "reverse logistics" in supply chain management and as "corporate branding" in marketing, the course introduces circularity as strategy, as accountability and as an object of governance. These are three critical perspectives, that you would need to command to assess circular start-ups, advise executive boards and municipalities regarding their aspirations to circularity and/or launch your own circular venture.