Going Circular: From Idea to Implementation

“If you have vision and an eye for creativity, almost anything can be turned into something new and functional – more stylish than old, smarter than brand new,” claims TouchPoint, a Finnish company established in 2008, specializing in converting textile and plastic waste into work clothes. This course aims to provide students with the analytical concepts and practical tools that will enable them to realize their circular vision in various organizational contexts. By integrating ethnographic methods with key concepts from entrepreneurship, this class equips students with the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to make transitions to circularity.

But what is the circular economy? How can organizations transition away from the linear economy, where products are manufactured from virgin materials and wasted after reaching the end of their life cycle? What are the options and approaches to organizing, documenting, communicating, and marketing circular services and products? Through this course, you will learn the basic principles of the circular economy and the strategies, market arrangements, and regulatory landscapes that set barriers and enablers for circular transitions.

The course is intensive and follows a problem-based learning approach, where students develop novel solutions to a real-world challenge posed by a case company that aspires to go circular. The class requires active participation from students, with classroom activities and discussions as well as working in project teams inside and outside the classroom. The aim is to facilitate learning by doing, learning by observing, and learning by explaining and critical reflecting. Students will be supported in their learning process with coaching in collaboration with the Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship (CSE).

We begin by introducing the triple-H framework for sustainability learning exemplified by our very own Permaculture Garden, which embodies a key circular strategy. In the garden, we will form the teams that you will be working in throughout the course. In our second class, the case company will introduce their real-world circular challenge. Over the following weeks, you will be guided through the iterative process from devising a circular strategy, to designing a circular business model, to impact assessment and marketing. At each stage of the process, you will be supported with relevant concepts and tools to guide your learning experience within your team. In the final week of the course, your team will have the opportunity to pitch your circular solution to the case company.

Course leader

Martin Skrydstrup - Department of Management, Society and Communication

Target group

This is a bachelor level course. CBS Summer University courses at Copenhagen Business School is open to all and welcomes domestic and international students as well as professionals.

Course aim

Explain different concepts of sustainability and explain how they relate to the circular economy

Apply circular strategies and circular business models to explore the opportunities and challenges for circular transitions

Use, explain, and reflect on the use of ethnographic methods and conceptual tools from entrepreneurship when framing and managing the process from idea to implementation

Critically and reflectively analyze, compare, and discuss the fundamental assumptions, opportunities, and limitations of key concepts, analytical tools and methods from the course

Credits info

7.5 EC
This is a 6-week course. You can combine up to two 6-week courses making 15 ECTS in total.
Find more information on our website.

Fee info

DKK 6000: Tuition fee for Open University students (EU/EEA/Swiss citizenship)
DKK 12000: Tuition fee for non-European students.