A new course offered through the University of Guelph aims to help people, business owners and others lessen their environmental impact and reduce waste.
Created in large part by Christopher Coghlan, director of curriculum and strategy at Boundless Accelerator (formerly Innovation Guelph), Introducing the Circular Economy is meant to illustrate how resources can be used more effectively by establishing a closed loop system that has little to no waste – the cast-off material from one process is the source material for another.
“Guelph-Wellington is really a leader in circular economy, agri-food, environment in a broad sense. So there’s already so many people who are already doing great things,” said Coghlan.
“(This course is) for those who are inspired by a lot of the great work that’s already going on and want to learn a little bit more, this is a great way … to get some foundational knowledge that will then provide an entry point for people to begin the process of action in their own lives, whether that’s at home or at work, at school, with colleagues or friends.”
The course, which is offered online only, first launched last week. Registration remains open through to April 19.
This is not a one-off initiative, said Coghlan, noting the plan is to make the course available three times per year, aligning with the U of G’s semesters, well into the future.
“I think the appetite is there,” he said, sharing he hopes it leads to people making changes in their lives. “It’s about foundational education for the community.”
The hope is that by the end of the course, participants have an understanding of how circular economies contribute to achieving sustainable development goals; identify and calculate waste/emissions, and consider how to create value from them; and apply circular economy ideas and tools to their current and future work, projects and other initiatives.
“We have behavioural change as well – how people can really influence customers and citizens to adopt circular practices,” Coghlan noted.
According to the U of G’s description of the course, it’s expected to take participants about 10 hours to complete, with a quiz at the end that accounts for 100 per cent of their grade. Course-takers, who require a 75 per cent result in order to pass, will receive a digital badge to acknowledge they’ve successfully completed the course.
Tuition was intentionally set low, at $150, in order to keep the course accessible to as many people as possible, Coghlan said.
“There is actually no profit,” he said. “It’s being offered at cost to keep it online.
“That’s something I felt strongly about and that everybody on the project felt strongly about.”
More information about the course, including registration details, can be found here.
