Course overview
The dominant linear economy (make > use > dispose) wastes resources, is economically inefficient and leads to environmental damage. In a circular economy, the maximum value is extracted from resources in use, then products and materials are recovered and regenerated at the end of each service life. This course will introduce students to the systems thinking required to develop technological solutions and business models that contribute to making our economy more circular. Students will conduct a basic lifecycle assessment to quantify environmental impacts for different product options and will consider case studies of best practice for different circular strategies.
Course learning outcomes
- Recognise and apply established conceptual models and frameworks to explain and discuss how material and energy flows through our economic system
- Apply a systems approach to developing circular economy models to keep materials and energy at their highest value
- Articulate the distinguishing characteristics of different strategies to achieve a more circular economy, including resource and waste management, eco efficiency, clean production and industrial ecology
- Identify reliable and appropriate data sources and use industry standard software to apply these in a life cycle assessment process to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of a set of similar products or systems, including embodied energy, water, land use and carbon emissions
- Apply energy systems concepts to describe the food-water-energy nexus and recommend sustainable options for production, utilisation and optimisation of energy
- Scope, investigate, critically analyse and synthesise information to design a creative and sustainable alternative to a "linear" model in a predefined context, applying lifecycle assessment to evaluate the potential improvement through implementation of circular economy principles
Degree list
The following degrees include this course