Article

Teaching circular economy is certainly one of the things I love most in my portfolio career.

Delivering a class on circular economy is both surprising and amazing:
 

• Surprising because circular economy has been around for decades yet few people really know about what it is and what it is not.
• Amazing because it can only be an excitement to teach such a topic to the future generation of leaders and show them the enormous potential behind such new economic model.
  
   

I would love to see circular economy being taught not just in some business schools and universities. I would love to see it widely spread in elementary and high schools. I would love to see those schools embarking pupils in circular economy projects to see it in action and encourage them to bring that circular economy mindset and spirit home. Shifting to a new economic model is a whole educational and cultural process. And core to that process is the consumer. Profoundly changing our production and consumption model requires every stakeholder to play a fundamental part. Yet, the cornerstone of that transformation is the consumer. Let's educate our children to be more responsible and inclusive consumers. Let's educate small kids now about circular economy so it becomes the new way of thinking about the economy, the environment and the future of humanity.

As I am writing this post I would like to mention the launch today in France of a white paper I contributed to and is titled "Femmes, Santé et Climat".* That collective piece of work led by members of SupplementdElles, a French based women's network, is about the devastating social and economic impact of climate change on women. By moving away from today's linear "take, make, dispose" economic model and advocating an economy that is regenerative and restorative by design the circular economy is a also model of growth calling for our accountability and responsibility in tackling climate change and the dramatic consequences on populations and the planet.

Nelson Mandela said "education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world", and the legend of the hummingbird tells us that every drop of water counts. When I stand in front of my students and share about circular economy, I want to think that I am that hummingbird changing the world one class at a time! 

Happy to hear your thoughts on and experience of circular economy at home, school, work, and society at large!

Sandy Beky is certified in Circular Economy and the Founder of Kyosei Leadership a managerial innovation start up that is promoting the application of circular economy in human capital management and organizational governance. In 2015 she co-authored a white paper titled "Circular economy applied to the management of human resources" published by l'Harmattan

* English translation Women, Health and Climate - French speaking readers can download the white paper here