• Identify and critically discuss the strategic advantages for circular economy in comparison with the performance economy, the blue economy, the carbon economy, the sharing economy and de-growth models
• Identify and critically discuss the enablers and metric evaluations of at least four different business models for circular economy
• Assess and critically discuss product life-extension model vs. product as service business model
• Understand and critically assess the differences between down-cycling and up-cycling of materials (metals, plastics, organic, etc.) in material flows of different scales

In the linear economy, businesses extract materials, use them to manufacture products and then sell those to consumers, who most often dump these, when they no longer serve their purpose. Such a linear economy extracts resources at increasing rates – currently humanity uses resources that would require 1,5 Planet Earths to keep up each year – without consideration of the environment in which it operates. Of late, a new geological term has emerged to describe the environmental consequences of the linear economy: The Anthropocene. This term implies that in our time, humanity is the decisive factor in shaping the natural environment. A critical component of the Anthropocene is our current patterns of production and consumption, i.e. the Take-Make-Waste approach of the linear economy. Most agree that this cannot continue indefinitely and that business as usual is not an option any longer.

The concept of the circular economy promises a way out. Here products do not become waste. The circular economy promises to keep products and goods at their highest utility and value at all times and is restorative and regenerative by design. Services and goods are distributed and shared in new and innovative ways without compromising the functioning of the biosphere. The common point of departure for the many ideas clustered under the rubric of “circular economy” is to change the linear economy of “Take-Make-Waste”. The rationale is to lower resource use and waste and build smarter governance of natural capital. The key notion of circular economy builds on the idea of cycles in nature fueled by solar energy, where nothing is wasted and stuff circulates in loops.

Attracting increased attention from governments, businesses and civil society, the circular economy is an emerging field of study, where we will cover a range of critical questions from conceptual and practical perspectives: What is the relationship between the circular economy and growth? Who (business leaders, industrial designers, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, etc.) venture into the spaces of circular economy? What might their business models look like? How is environmental impact of production and consumption measured and assessed? And ultimately, does circular economy create value and prosperity for the current generation that is not at the expense of the opportunities for future generations?

TBA