Mon, Jan 24, 2022 from 12:00-1:30pm ET and Wed, Jan 26, 2022 from 12:00-1:30pm ET
This course will provide an introduction to systems analysis, the principles of the Circular Economy, and the tools and metrics used to measure progress towards more material circularity. These tools and metrics build on industrial ecology, a sustainability science that uses a holistic systems approach while assessing the material, energy, and environmental implications of economic activity. Participants will be introduced to material flow analysis (MFA) as a tool to:
Inform about the efficiency of material management at any spatial or temporal level of interest
Illustrate the circularity of material systems
Calculate recycling and efficiency metrics
A brief introduction to life cycle assessment (LCA) will explain how LCA is used to understand the energy and environmental implications of alternative material management options. Examples using the above approaches will be provided for metals, plastics, and fibers (paper, textiles), demonstrating how systems wide analyses can help identify opportunities, challenges, and barriers towards more circularity.
Learning Objectives of this new certificate pathway include introductions to:
The circular economy concept, its motivation and goals
Material Flow Analysis, the research questions it addresses (e.g., material efficiency, future scrap supply), and examples
Life Cycle Assessment, the research questions it addresses, how it complements MFA in systems analyses, and examples
Calculation of recycling metrics “end-of-life recycling rate” and “recycled content”, barriers to their improvement, and examples for different materials
Techno-Economic Analysis, the research questions it addresses (e.g., cost of current and future technologies), and examples
Systems Analysis and how a holistic use of the above mentioned tools creates new insights for REMADE that help prioritize future research
*This certificate pathway webinar replay is coming soon and will be available exclusively for active Members of the Institute through the Member Portal. If you are interested in learning more about member benefits or becoming part of our consortium, please visit the membership page.
Barbara Reck
Senior Research Scientist, Yale University School for the Environment, and Systems Analysis & Integration Node Lead, REMADE Institute
Dr. Barbara Reck is a Senior Research Scientist at the Yale School of the Environment and leads the Systems Analysis & Integration Node at REMADE, where her work helps identify and prioritize opportunities to save energy and reduce embodied emissions across product design, material optimization, reuse and remanufacturing, and recycling & recovery initiatives. In Dr. Reck’s almost 20-year research career in the field of industrial ecology she focuses on evaluating how sustainably materials are used in society, information relevant to environmental and resource policy as well as circular economy assessments. Prior to her research career, Dr. Reck worked in industry as Manager Environmental Affairs for Lufthansa German Airlines. Dr. Reck holds an MS and PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences (Bingen, Germany) and the Technical University of Berlin (Berlin, Germany), respectively.