--- title: Circular Economy description: The circular economy is an economic model aimed at eliminating waste through the continual use of resources. Learners will understand how to design closed-loop systems, optimize product lifecycles, and implement sustainable production and consumption practices. category: sciences subcategory: climate-action-and-advocacy difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/circular-economy --- # Circular Economy The circular economy is an economic model aimed at eliminating waste through the continual use of resources. Learners will understand how to design closed-loop systems, optimize product lifecycles, and implement sustainable production and consumption practices. ## Available Resources 1 Books • 2 Courses • 3 Websites ## Websites ### 1. Ellen MacArthur Foundation Circular Economy Knowledge Hub The foundation's introductory hub on circular economy principles, with explainers, case studies, and research reports. Covers designing out waste, keeping materials in use, and regenerating natural systems, giving readers the vocabulary and framing used across the field. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview **Tags:** circular-economy, sustainability, materials, systems-thinking, case-studies ### 2. unep.org UNEP.org is the official website of the United Nations Environment Programme, offering policy guidance, research, data, and news on global environmental issues. It features circular economy content—concepts, case studies, tools, and policy resources to advance sustainable production, consumption, and resource management. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://unep.org **Tags:** websites, science-research, climate-action ### 3. wri.org World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global environmental policy research organization that offers data-driven analysis, reports, and interactive tools on climate, energy, forests, water, and sustainable development to inform policy and business decisions. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://wri.org **Tags:** websites, science-research, climate-action ## Courses ### 1. Circular Economy for a Sustainable Built Environment Learn how the principles of the Circular Economy can be applied to the built environment ranging from products and buildings to metropolitan and regional development strategies. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.edx.org/learn/circular-economy/delft-university-of-technology-circular-economy-for-a-sustainable-built-environment **Tags:** circular-economy, built-environment, construction, sustainability, urban-development ### 2. Circular Economy - Sustainable Materials Management This course looks at where important materials in products we use every day come from and how these materials can be used more efficiently, longer, and in closed loops. This is the aim of the Circular Economy, but it doesn’t happen on its own. It is the result of choices and strategies by suppliers, designers, businesses, policymakers and all of us as consumers. In addition to providing many cases of managing materials for sustainability, the course also teaches skills and tools for analyzing circular business models and promotes development of your own ideas to become more involved in the transition to a Circular Economy. You will learn from expert researchers and practitioners from around Europe as they explain core elements and challenges in the transition to a circular economy over the course of 5 modules: Module 1: Materials. This module explores where materials come from, and builds a rationale for why society needs more circularity. Module 2: Circular Business Models. In this module circular business models are explored in-depth and a range of ways for business to create economic and social value are discussed. Module 3: Circular Design, Innovation and Assessment. This module presents topics like functional materials and eco-design as well as methods to assess environmental impacts. Module 4: Policies and Networks. This module explores the role of governments and networks and how policies and sharing best practices can enable the circular economy. Module 5: Circular Societies. This module examines new norms, forms of engagement, social systems, and institutions, needed by the circular economy and how we, as individuals, can help society become more circular. This course is brought to you by: LUND UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS (IIIEE) EIT RAWMATERIALS VITO GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF DENMARK AND GREENLAND NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS GHENT UNIVERSITY DELFT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Duration:** 5 weeks of study, 5-8 hours per week. You may transfer to later sessions to extend the course. | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/circular-economy **Tags:** courses, science-research, climate-action ## Books ### 1. The Circular Economy **Author:** Ken Webster Webster, then head of innovation at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, argues that a regenerative economy built on material cascades and access over ownership is economically sound. Readers gain the systems-thinking and feedback-loop framing behind circular business models. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0992778468?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, climate-action --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/circular-economy