Introduction to the circular economy

The circular economy is one of the main levers of development towards sustainability as set out in the UN 2030 Agenda.

The circular economy is an economy in which waste and pollution are minimised through conscious design of products, processes and services, the value of resources is maintained for as long as possible and natural systems are regenerated.

Why is the circular economy important?
The increasing consumption of natural resources needed to satisfy the needs of the population has driven our economic and production systems to a reckless exploitation of environmental resources, causing raw material crises, environmental damage to ecosystems with repercussions also at the economic and social level.

The linear production model no longer holds: it must be overcome by moving towards the circular economy, a regenerative economy, where resources are kept in circulation for as long as possible.
The circular economy is the 'new paradigm' committed to resource efficiency, prevention, reuse, recycling, the use of renewable sources, the waste hierarchy and greater producer responsibility, but also to ecodesign, i.e. innovation that enables companies to design their products to be circular.

What you will learn
During this course you will learn the basic principles, history, strategies and European policies and you will be confronted with examples and case histories of companies and manufacturers who have already embarked on this path.