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Circular Economy: A Practical Map for Professionals
New
3 students
Last updated 5/2026
English

What you'll learn

  • Why the circular economy emerged and why it is now a regulatory, financial, and strategic reality, not just an idea
  • What circular economy actually is and is not, including where the concept is most commonly misunderstood
  • The five core principles behind circular economy, from systems thinking to operating within planetary boundaries
  • The full toolkit: LCA, climate risk assessment, business approaches, product design principles, technologies, EPR, DPP, GPP, KPIs, and ISO standards
  • Why we still do not live in a circular economy: real barriers including material chemistry, lock-in, sector bottlenecks, and financial misalignment
  • The EU regulatory landscape: ESPR, PPWR, Batteries Regulation, CRMA, CBAM, Right to Repair Directive, and how to read what is coming next
  • How circular economy enters retail, industry, agriculture, energy, construction, transport, and IT — with sector-specific data and examples
  • How the green transition is financed, and how to read investment priorities as signals for future job demand
  • Which existing roles need to upskill and how, plus the new professions emerging because of circularity
  • Real, technically grounded case studies: nitrocellulose in inks, copper contamination in steel, cobalt ethics, PLA compostability, enzymatic recycling, and more

Course content

10 sections52 lectures3h 39m total length
  • Introduction3:27
  • A course map3:10

Requirements

  • No prior background in circular economy or sustainability is required
  • Basic familiarity with business, industry, or supply chains is helpful but not mandatory
  • Curiosity about how economic systems, materials, and regulation interact is the most important prerequisite

Description

Most circular economy courses tell you what the concept is. This course shows you how it actually works: in materials, in regulation, in business models, in sectors, and in the labour market.

We use a visual knowledge map as our guide throughout. Every section is grounded in real material science, real regulatory text, and real business trade-offs. You will learn why printed plastic film is nearly impossible to recycle because of ink chemistry. Why recycled fibres make paper weaker and what that means for packaging design. How the shift to electric vehicles is creating a copper contamination problem in steel recycling. And how to read EU regulation as an early signal of future competence demand before job titles fully stabilise.

The course is built for professionals entering or already working in sustainability, procurement, product development, logistics, finance, legal, and policy, as well as students who want to understand the real dynamics of the transition economy.

The regulatory landscape is moving fast. ESPR, PPWR, the Battery Regulation, CBAM — these are not future considerations. They are present-tense business requirements that affect market access, supplier relationships, product design, and investment decisions right now. Companies that wait for the dust to settle will find themselves behind on compliance, behind on competence, and behind on the talent needed to execute. This course gives you practical knowledge, not buzzwords, so you can act on what is already happening.

Who this course is for:

  • Sustainability professionals and advisors who want deeper technical and regulatory grounding
  • Product designers, engineers, and packaging developers navigating recyclability and design requirements
  • Procurement and supply chain professionals facing new circular criteria and reporting obligations
  • Finance, legal, and compliance professionals whose roles are changing because of the green transition
  • Business leaders and managers who need circular economy as a strategic business reality
  • Policy analysts, researchers, and students who want a systems-level understanding of the circular transition
  • Anyone who wants to future-proof their career in the transition economy