Unlocking Business Value: A Review of Coursera's Circular Economy Course from Lund University
- Hannah Winishut
- Aug 6
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 24
As a sustainability consultant, I’m constantly seeking ways to help businesses not just do good, but do well by integrating sustainable practices. That's why I was particularly excited to dive into Coursera's "Circular Economy – Sustainable Materials Management" course from Lund University. And let me tell you, it delivered.
The single most valuable takeaway from this course is the undeniable truth that applying circular economy principles to business models offers immense benefits—for the organization itself, for the environment, and for the larger socio-economic sphere. By transitioning to a circular economy, businesses can significantly reduce their demand for virgin raw materials, lower their environmental footprint, create entirely new value streams through services like repair and remanufacturing, and build more resilient supply chains. It’s a win-win-win.
Who Will Benefit Most from This Course?
If you're a supply chain manager, you'll find this course incredibly valuable as it delves deep into materials management. Budding entrepreneurs interested in launching a circular business will also find a treasure trove of resources here. And for any sustainability professional—whether you’re an analyst, a Chief Sustainability Officer, or a consultant like me—the information presented is highly applicable. I believe this course is particularly useful for those looking to start or transition to a circular business model, thanks to the abundance of practical resources it provides.
While the course is tailored towards EU member nations, its principles and lessons are universally applicable. The EU is truly pioneering many circular economy initiatives, and their expertise offers invaluable insights for the rest of the world.
Core Concepts: About the Circular Economy and Sustainable Materials Management
Here are my top five key takeaways from the course:
1. Materials: Beyond the Use Phase
The course highlighted the intricate nature of material supply chains. It emphasized that sustainable planning for mines must extend beyond just the use phase, considering the full environmental, social, and economic implications of what happens once mining operations cease. While recycling materials like aluminum uses far less energy than extracting virgin resources, the current demand for virgin materials means both approaches will coexist for some time.
2. Circular Business Models: Narrowing, Slowing, & Closing Loops
This section was a game-changer, focusing on keeping resources at their highest value for as long as possible.
Narrowing loops is about resource efficiency—"doing more with less." While important, it doesn't address post-use product life.
Slowing loops is the most crucial, yet often the hardest, strategy. It involves designing long-life goods through repair, maintenance, upgrades, refurbishment, and remanufacturing. This extends product lifespan and intensifies use, offsetting initial resource input.
Closing loops focuses on recycling and recovering materials at the end of a product's life.
3. Circular Design, Innovation, and Assessment
Innovation plays a vital role in circularity, covering material science, ecodesign strategies (like biomimicry), and nanotech. The course introduced Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) as a key method for assessing environmental sustainability. LCA comprehensively measures a product's environmental impact from "cradle to grave." A critical insight was understanding how environmental benefits can be undermined: for instance, if the energy for recycling outweighs the benefits, or if prolonging the life of energy-intensive products prevents the adoption of more efficient new models. The concept of the "circular economy rebound effect" was also eye-opening—where, despite circular practices, overall consumption might inadvertently increase due to factors like cheaper secondary products leading to more spending.
4. Policies and Networks: Catalyzing Change
Governments have powerful tools to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The course detailed three types of policy instruments:
Administrative (e.g., bans, standards, voluntary agreements)
Economic (e.g., taxes, fees, subsidies)
Informative (e.g., labeling, certification, awareness campaigns)
The most effective approach involves using all three in a complementary way to enable, engage, encourage, and enforce change across industries.
5. Circular Societies: A Holistic Vision
This section emphasized the inherent value of an enriched and modernized "circular society." It reinforced that our society is intrinsically linked to—and impacted by—natural systems. Our collective thoughts, actions, and behaviors ultimately determine how our economy functions. A circular society aims to reduce the burden on planetary ecosystems by preventing the loss of valuable materials and minimizing waste's environmental impact. Crucially, it also stimulates socio-economic development through new business models, job creation in recovery and recycling, and the fostering of clean raw material processes.
What Were the Biggest Strengths of This Course?
Mobile Compatibility: I completed nearly every aspect of this course on my cell phone, which was incredibly convenient for fitting in quick learning sessions during daily tasks like laundry. This flexibility allowed me to finish the course much more efficiently.
Abundance of Additional Resources: This course was packed with academic articles and supplemental materials. I made sure to save as many as possible for future reference, a generosity not always seen in online courses.
Numerous Case Studies: Nearly every module featured interviews with companies already operating under circular economy business models. Hearing about their successes and struggles offered a balanced perspective and was incredibly inspiring, showcasing how the circular economy truly enhances businesses' resilience and bottom line.
Areas for Improvement
Occasional Accent Challenges: As Lund is a Swedish university, some professors spoke English with accents that were occasionally tricky for me to discern. However, this was easily remedied by enabling captions, and most speakers were very clear.
Integration of Visuals: While the content was excellent, incorporating more text overlays, charts, and diagrams would further enhance the presentation of key points and make complex information even more digestible.
Application & Relevance for Businesses
The most impactful takeaway for real-world sustainability challenges is how deeply the circular economy approach leans into the business case for sustainability. It powerfully demonstrates that circular business models and sustainable materials management aren't just ethical choices; they are demonstrably possible, profitable, and build crucial resilience. One of the most useful skills I gained was completing the circular business model analysis. The course provided a free template and a hands-on assignment analyzing elements of Caterpillar's circular business strategy. This practical exercise was invaluable for understanding how to apply these concepts in a tangible way for my clients at Purshia Peak Consulting.
My Next Steps
Continuous learning and adaptation are fundamental values at Purshia Peak, and for me as its founder and CEO. I'm currently completing a specialization from the University of Colorado on "Applied Sustainability for Technical Managers," which includes a course specifically on sustainability and the circular economy, and another on leading circular and sustainable businesses. This ongoing education directly supports my mission to help small to medium-sized businesses save money, enhance operations, and boost their bottom line through circular economy principles.
What Surprised Me Most?
Before this course, I hadn't fully grasped the extent to which the EU is actively addressing environmental and ecological challenges, viewing them as intricately linked rather than mutually exclusive. Looking at Europe's proactive approach to sustainability feels like peering into the future for the US.
What I particularly appreciated was the multicultural perspective. As a US citizen, I don't think the circular economy is as ubiquitous in our business landscape as it is in the EU. Hearing from so many industries discuss how the circular economy has affected their businesses in Europe was incredibly interesting and inspiring. The EU's push towards a circular economy is largely rooted in its need to address resource scarcity and waste management given its smaller size, older infrastructure, and population density. The EU's circular economy package, first adopted in 2014, highlights their leading role in this transition. I truly believe the rest of the world can benefit immensely by observing Europe’s current environmental and resource challenges and how they are effectively addressing them. For them, it’s not a question of if but when the rest of the world will fully embrace sustainability and the circular economy.
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