Circular Economy

A circular economy is one that is restorative by design, and which aims to keep products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value at all times. A circular economy provides a tightly looped, restorative economic cycle where resources can be re-adapted for use without limiting the desirability of products or the flow of revenue. To learn more, check out the links below:

To Read

• Concept: What is a Circular Economy? A framework for an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design - from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation

• Circular Economy Case Studies from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation

• Circular Economy Butterfly Diagram — a system diagram illustrating the continuous flow of materials in a circular economy, from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation

• The Circular Design Guide from IDEO and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation

• Visualized: The Circular Economy 101

• Circularity Gap Report 2024 - an overview of the state of the global circular economy by the Circular Economy Foundation

• Circular Economy Database Africa - an open-source database with diverse resources from academic publications to reports & policy papers
  

To Watch

Circular Economy Examples

• 10 Examples of Circular Economy Solutions - from the State of Green

• 11 companies that are leading the way to a circular economy - from the World Economic Forum

• Circular Economy Examples: Brands Changing the Game in 2020 - from the Future of Customer Engagement and Experience

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Wicked Problem Solving

A wicked problem doesn't imply a sense of 'evil,' but rather refers to a problem that is considerably resistant to resolution. Efforts to grapple with one aspect of a wicked problem often reveal or create other obstacles that must be considered and overcome, hence the importance of transdisciplinary collaboration. To learn more, check out the links below:

To Read

• What is a Wicked Problem and How Can You Solve It? by Interaction Design Foundation

• Strategy as a Wicked Problem from the Harvard Business Review (plus excerpt from Horst W.J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber’s 1973 article on the 10 properties of Wicked Problems)

• Wicked Problems and How to Solve Them by Ana Carolina de Almeida Kumlien and Paul Coughlan

• Wicked Problems Worth Solving Online book project by AC4D

• Excerpt from Wicked Problems Worth Solving by Jon Kolko

• "Wicked-Problem Solvers," from the Harvard Business Review

• “Wicked Problems and Social Complexity,” excerpt from Dialogue Mapping: Building Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems by Jeff Conklin
  

To Watch

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Design Thinking / Human-Centered Design

Design thinking is a human-centered approach for the development of ideas, business models, strategies, products, services, and brands. This technique pursues innovation through an alignment of consumer needs, sustainable manufacturing, and opportunity. To learn more, check out the links below:

To Read

• The Power and Potential of Design in a Global Crisis by IDEO

• Ten Tools for Design Thinking by Culture & Creativity by Culture & Creativity

• 10 Design-Thinking Tools: Turn Creativity and Data into Growth from UVA-Darden

• The Most Complete Design Thinking Tools and Resource Collections by Mockplus

• 9 Design Thinking tools to try with your team by InVision

• Design Thinking Methods, from Stanford University's D School

• DesignKit, a multifaceted design thinking resource from IDEO

• Design for Action by Tim Brown and Roger L. Martin, from the Harvard Business Review
  

To Watch

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Biomimicry

Biomimicry is the idea that complex human problems can be solved by imitating the systems, models, and design elements of the natural world. By looking to the natural world for inspiration, we can develop solutions that benefit both people and the plant. To learn more, check out the links below:

To Read

• What is Biomimicry from the Biomimicry Institute

• Biomimicry Toolbox from the Biomimicry Institute

• Biomimicry Solutions from the Biomimicry Institute

• AskNature - interactive resource from the Biomimicry Institute

• Synapse: Spark Biomimicry Ideas from Biomimicry 3.8

• Biomimicry Case Studies from Dezeen
  

To Watch

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Business Model Development

Regardless of what your team is working on - a product, service, business/non-profit organization, or other solution - you'll need to develop a detailed business model that proves the viability and profitability of your idea, as well as its alignment with the circular economy. As you develop your business model, you'll need to be able to identify its strengths and weaknesses, as well as any risks you may face and how you plan to address them. For more information on how to develop a business plan, check out the links below: 

To Read

• Business Model Canvas from The Circular Design Guide by Ellen MacArthur Foundation and IDEO

• The 5 business models that put the circular economy to work from Trellis

• How to build a business in the circular economy from the World Economic Forum

• Building a Circular Economy: 5 Key Concepts from the National Geographic

• 8 Business Cases for the Circular Economy from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development

• The Circular Economy Business Model Toolkit from Forum for the Future

• Business Model Innovation for Circular Economy and Sustainability: A Review of Approaches from the Journal of Cleaner Production

• openLCA: An open-source Life Cycle Assessment tool
  

To Watch

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Materials and Technologies

As your team develops a solution, you'll need to detail the resources/materials——technological, biological, and/or capital——incorporated into your solution, provide justification for their use, and illustrate their alignment with the circular economy. Check out the links below to learn about innovative ways you can incorporate materials and emerging technologies into your work: 

To Read

• Materiom - open data on how to make materials that nourish local economies and ecologies

• These 5 Disruptive Technologies are Driving the Circular Economy from the World Economic Forum

• Why materials will make or break the circular economy from Trellis

• New Technologies and How to Build a Circular Economy

  from Recycling International

• MaterialDistrict — a free global online database of innovative materials

• The New Plastics Economy from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Economic Forum

• What is the Internet of Things? WIRED Explains from WIRED

• Additive Manufacturing: Industry Trends and Outlook from FormLabs

• “Why the Circular Economy is a Digital Revolution” from the World Economic Forum

• Smart Material Choices from the Circular Design Guide
  

To Watch

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