Overview
Learn how to create a sustainable, circular organization. This course equips you with the skills to apply circular principles, using sustainability as a driver of business innovation and long-term success.
Are you ready to step into the world of sustainable business? Do you want to create and lead a circular organization?
Whether you're just exploring the idea of starting a circular business or you're ready to take concrete steps toward a sustainable transition, this course is designed for you!
This course equips you with the tools to launch a new circular business – whether for-profit or non-profit – or transform an existing one by embedding circular practices. It covers both entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, empowering you to drive change within your organization.
Step by step, we’ll guide you through the process of building a circular, sustainable organization. You'll learn to develop a business plan with circularity at its core, use design thinking to craft a strategy, identify circular markets, apply the circular business model canvas, manage finances effectively, and make decisions that promote sustainability at every stage. By the end, you'll have the knowledge and confidence to start building a business fit for the circular economy.
This course is for practical thinkers and problem-solvers ready to challenge "business as usual" and embrace circular entrepreneurship.
Is this course for you?
This course is ideal for participants from diverse backgrounds – whether you’re in engineering, social sciences, design, or business. It’s open to anyone with an entrepreneurial mindset and a passion for sustainability. Whether you're a student or a professional, if you’re motivated to build a more sustainable future, this course will help you succeed.
What You'll Learn
- Recognize and understand how environmental, policy, and social drivers of circular entrepreneurship can impact a new initiative.
- Ideate and evaluate new circular value propositions that meet the requirements of viability, feasibility, desirability, and sustainability.
- Demonstrate behaviors and adopt a mindset that support circular entrepreneurs in building a value network.
- Collect intelligence about markets for circular business to support the introduction of a new initiative in relation to competition, customer needs, and market entry, by using the (digital) tools introduced in this course.
- Propose a financial structure to support the business model of a new circular initiative, addressing how costs and revenues develop over time.
- Construct an action plan to initiate the first practical steps in a circular entrepreneurship/intrapreneurship journey, using the Business Model Plan template provided in the course.
Details
Course Syllabus
Module 1: Introduction and drivers towards circular entrepreneurship
Circularity and sustainability are rising in significance. This introductory module explains how these concepts apply in the start-up context. We will also outline how the course works and what you can achieve.
Module 2: Design thinking and circular entrepreneurship
A great new organization needs a well-designed product to complement its service. This module explains how this can be achieved.
Module 3: Markets for a circular organization
Without a market, any venture will fail. This module takes you through the process step-by-step.
Module 4: Revenue models and finance for circular entrepreneurship
Without solid financial footing, a new venture will not take off. The key fundamentals are covered in this module.
Module 5: Technological feasibility of circular economy
A great design, an exciting market, and strong financials all need to be realized technically. This module explores how to make that happen.
Module 6: Getting started for real
Each module has helped us build the new organization, and now we bring it all together. By the end of this course, you’ll be ready to launch your dream organization!
Qualifications
Chartered Engineering Competences
All our online courses and programs have been matched to the competences determined by KIVI’s Competence Structure, a common frame of reference for everyone, across all disciplines, levels and roles.
These competences apply to this course:
- A1: Extend your theoretical knowledge of new and advancing technologies.
- B1: Identify potential projects and opportunities.
- E3: Undertake engineering activities in a way that contributes to sustainable development and a circular economy.
Admission
This is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that runs on edX.
Prerequisites
None.
