From Linear to Circular: Engaging students to rethink sustainable practices

Circular Economy Analytics is really an applied quantitative systems thinking class, so we learn a variety of tools that help us to think differently about all the systems around us. One of the tools we learn is life cycle analysis, which lets us study and understand the entire life cycle of products and the impacts that are associated with that, so we can really appreciate what it takes to make the things we have and also the opportunities to design them better, make them more efficient and also engage in better end of use practices like recycling and reuse and repair. This is a Pathways 5A class so we have students from a variety of majors. These tools are going to be beneficial for any application. It's a big part of my major which is packaging. You can say all right we have 90% of our products that can be recycled and we have nothing to recycle so you're losing money that way. This was kind of like a hands-on way to see that. If you have an understanding of what each product is and then the materials that go into making that product it can help you better choose ways to make packages. This analytics course is one of the cornerstone classes in our new sustainable system science major dedicated to helping students step out from their degree when they're all finished to go into supporting corporations who are wanting to know how do we measure our carbon footprint how do we understand the impacts of our products and reduce the harm or increase the benefit. I think honestly the reason is a little personal for me. Our natural resources are a big part of what we do every day. Someone has to make the change for sustainability. I love these labs because they're very hands-on. This is where I see the students light up and get really engaged. This is when they start to shine and you can really see where their interests lie. That's when I also get to see the students' personalities coming through.