Circular Product Design Frameworks and Certifications is the third and final course of the Circular Product Development for the Circular Economy specialization. The aim of this course is to explore different circular design frameworks such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's collaboration with IDEO to create a Circular Product Design Guide, the partnership between industry and research teams that culminated in the CIRCit Guide to Circular Product Design and Development, and Biomimicry 3.8's Guide to best practices. If the first two courses in the specialization describe what circular product and packaging design is and what it can achieve, this course is about the processes and methodologies necessary to make it happen.
The course begins by examining the motivation for circular product design, highlighting what is happening at major corporations such as IKEA, as well as for regulatory mandates, such as the European Union's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (the ESPR). The course then dives into the Ellen MacArthur Foundation-IDEO's 4-Phase Design Guide based on human-centered design and design thinking. The Circular Product Design approach defined by the CIRCit Project is also examined in detail, as it dovetails nicely into existing stage-gate product development processes. The course then briefly discusses biomimicry as an innovative way to emulate nature's solutions to today's challenges. Increasingly, consumers (and investors!) are interested in more sustainable and circular products, and one way of demonstrating a company's success is with a 3rd party certification. Therefore, the course wraps up with a focus on the Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute’s certification process. Included in this course is a comprehensive set of tools, worksheets, and activities that can be used by any product design team interested in developing circular products that benefit both people and the environment.
This course was developed in collaboration with Siemens Digital Industries Software and is part of the "Design for the Circular Economy" collection. Learners who complete and pass the course can receive an industry-recognized digital badge.
The “Design for the Circular Economy” microcredential and graduate certificate are developed around the educational goals of providing technical, business, and leadership knowledge and skills that inspire the transformation towards a more circular economy. This includes gaining technical knowledge to apply circular economy principles in product design, minimizing waste and maximizing impact; developing business acumen to implement innovative circular economic models that prioritize sustainability and resilience; and acquiring leadership strategies to communicate effectively and inspire change within an organization.
This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Engineering in Engineering Management (ME-EM) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The ME-EM is designed to help engineers, scientists, and technical professionals move into leadership and management roles in the engineering and technical sectors. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the ME-EM is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience. Learn more about the ME-EM program at https://www.coursera.org/degrees/me-engineering-management-boulder.
Circular Product Design Frameworks and Certifications
University of Colorado Boulder and Siemens via Coursera
Overview
Syllabus
- The Motivation for Circular Product Design
- Welcome to Circular Product Design Frameworks and Certifications! This is the third and final course in the Sustainable and Circular Product Development Specialization. This first module begins with an introduction to the course and how it works. We then get into product design and the frameworks that exist to help promote more sustainable and circular product design, such as the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) product design method, a methodology based on a partnership between the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and IDEO, and a design strategy based on Biomimicry. We then explore the regulatory side of circular product design, referencing the European Union's recently enacted "Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation", or ESPR. Using smartphones as an example, we learn about the ESPR's ecodesign requirements, and how we as consumers gain insights to a products sustainability credentials. Finally, we examine the strategies of a company that has had sustainability at its core for decades: IKEA. We learn how IKEA applies principles of the circular economy to its products through its Circular Product Design Guide, and how that is based on IKEA's overall goal of Transitioning to a Circular Business by 2030.
- The EMF-IDEO Circular Product Design Framework
- The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) has been central in providing tools and ideas for accelerating the Circular Economy. The EMF teamed up with IDEO, an internationally recognized product design firm, to create the EMF-IDEO Circular Design Guide. It is a valuable framework for achieving a circular product design through its detailed, step-by-step process complete with many worksheets and activities. The Framework consists of 4 steps: Understand, Define, Make and Release. These steps align with IDEO's Human-Centered Design and Design Thinking approaches to product design, now incorporating principles of the circular economy. In this module, we describe IDEO's overall approach to product design, and then detail each step of the EMF-IDEO Circular Product Design Framework in a manner that enables the Design Team to go through the process themselves, and ultimately identify the circular product design to take forward into production.
- The CIRCit and Biomimicry Frameworks
- While the Ellen MacArthur Foundation-IDEO Circular Design Framework is a well-known approach towards transitioning to greater circularity, other valuable frameworks exist as well. Notably, the CIRCit Project, conducted by a team from academia, research centers and industry, established a circular design guideline that can be incorporated directly into more conventional stage-gate product development processes. The CIRCit approach to Circular Product Design and Development is explored in detail in this module, especially as it applies to the early stages of product development. In addition, linking product design to nature is a common theme among many guidelines. The field of biomimicry encourages innovation by looking to nature for solutions. The Biomimicry Institute and its sister-organization, Biomimicry 3.8, have established a design guide that helps product developers learn how to apply the principles of biomimicry into their design process. This module also explores this novel approach to circular product design.
- The Cradle-to-Cradle Product Certification Process
- Many companies are ramping up their efforts to ensure their products are more sustainable and circular, whether to comply with the new European Union’s eco-design regulations, or because customers are seeking products that better reflect their own values of social and environmental responsibility. Yet how would consumers know whether a product is truly circular or not – and to what degree? One approach is the use of a 3rd party certification. By having a 3rd party evaluate and assess a product’s circularity relative to a rigorous set of standards, the company’s claims become quite credible. This 4th and final module of the course explores a 3rd party certification process that comes from the Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute, the non-profit spun out from the Cradle-to-Cradle organization. Products can achieve levels of Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum, with the requirements for each certification level are captured in a document called the Cradle-to-Cradle Product Standard. This module examines the most recent product standard in some detail, notably version 4.1, which takes effect in 2025. Certification depends on progress on 5 different focus areas: Material Health, Product Circularity, Clean Air and Climate Protection, Water and Soil Stewardship, and Social Fairness. In this module, you will go through each of these to get a better understanding of what it takes to get a product certified as sustainable and aligning with the principles of the circular economy.
Taught by
Michael J. Readey, Ph.D.
