- You gain broad multidisciplinary insights in the diverse perspectives of circular economy as well as their interdependencies and impacts: economic, legal, political, societal and technical.
- You are first in line to get to know the most recent evolutions and developments within the multiple circular economy expertise domains from a team of lecturers from both academia and industry.
- Practical knowledge is facilitated through company visits and workshops.
- You are challenged to address the development or evaluation of a circular business model from the principle of systems thinking, considering the entire value chain and all stakeholders.
- You learn how to implement new circular strategies or solutions in your organisation.
- You are able to make informed decisions and define well-considered solutions for the circular business challenges in your own practice.
- You enlarge your professional network through interaction with fellow participants from different sectors and with lecturers from both academia and industry.
Postgraduate Certificate: Circular Economy – Business and legal frameworks and opportunities
Postgraduate Certificate: Circular Economy – Business and legal frameworks and opportunities
Postgraduaat: Circulaire economie - Zakelijke en juridische kaders en opportuniteiten
Intro
The need for a sustainable transformation of our economy and society as a whole has gained more widespread acceptance in recent years, thanks to new scientific insights and the ever increasing prominent (consequences of) climate change. Moreover, multiple geo-political events made the urge for fundamental transitions in sustainable raw material management, food and energy supply clearly tangible. Sustainability is or should be high on the agenda of every organisation. Sustainable products, processes and services evolve into the new mainstream.
Circular economy is to become the norm in the near future for companies to be resilient and ensure their existence in a sustainable way (i.e. ecologically, economically and socially). The new ‘Circular Economy Action Plan' is therefore an essential part of the European Commission's European Green Deal. Developing circular business models, products and services is vital in the transition to a more sustainable, resilient economy, society and planet.
Does your organisation want to take the leap to a future-proof circular business, but do you lack sufficient knowledge and skills on how to get started or scale up?
The Postgraduate Certificate Circular economy - Business and legal frameworks and opportunities has been designed specifically to address this need. This programme allows you to acquire solid academic and applied interdisciplinary knowledge in the different strategies and models to establish and implement a circular business model, the associated economic, legal, political and social opportunities and challenges, as well as an introduction to recent developments in sustainable/circular materials and products.
This programme runs jointly with the postgraduate programme Sustainable polymers in a circular economy.
On site
Lecturers
Luc Alaerts, Veerle Colaert, Yoko Dams, Marleen Denef, Johan Eyckmans, Dorothy Gruyaert, Hilde Janssens, Bert Keirsbilck, Bart Lahcen, Mieke Pieters, Sandra Rousseau, Evelyne Terryn, Koen Thewissen, Wim Thielemans, Karel Van Acker, Katrien Verleye
read more… less…Standard price
5500 euro
Open everything
›Goals
›Target audience
The programme aims at professionals who want to expand their knowledge of circular economy and sustainable circular strategies. Sustainability transitions require a holistic approach, where solving these ‘wicked problems’ must be tackled from a systems perspective to achieve a global positive impact. This programme offers a balanced, interdisciplinary content addressing circular economy from different perspectives, appealing to different economic and legal profiles within the various departments of an organisation.
The programme specifically caters to participants with a certain degree of decision-making power within their organisation to actively contribute to the transition to a circular economy, including but not limited to: financial managers, product managers, operations managers, sales managers, purchase managers, legal/compliance managers, corporate lawyers, audit managers, sustainability managers.
In general, participants with a master’s degree and 3-5 years’ experience will be admitted. If you hold a bachelor’s degree or recently graduated as a master, you are also welcome to apply to the programme by submitting your CV and motivation letter to demonstrate you have the necessary background. The programme committee will assess your application.
›Program
The programme consists of 2 modules and a closing thesis (in Dutch or English) integrating the knowledge acquired in the different courses, which is to be presentated to the examination jury,
Upon successful completion of the programme, you receive the Postgraduate Certificate Circular economy – Business and legal opportunities and challenges, awarded by KU Leuven. The programme contains 21 ECTS.
MODULE 1: A HOLISTIC VIEW ON CIRCULAR ECONOMY
This module offers a broad, interdisciplinary perspective on circular economy. It starts with a general introduction to circular economy as a means to achieve sustainability goals, followed by several chapters each addressing a specific aspect of circular economy, i.e. business-economic, legal, policy, social, and technical.
WHAT IS CIRCULAR ECONOMY
- Why circular economy? - Karel Van Acker
- Circular economy vs. sustainability - Karel Van Acker
- Circular economy in Flanders and Belgium - Luc Alaerts
- Circular/system thinking - Luc Alaerts
- How to transition towards a circular economy? - Luc Alaerts
BUSINESS-ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY
- Circular business models - Sandra Rousseau
- Circular business development - Mieke Pieters (The Circular Hub)
- Circular procurement - Mieke Pieters (The Circular Hub)
- Corporate identity and culture, change management - Annick Van Rossem
- Circular corporate models - Marleen Denef (Impact advocaten)
- Corporate communication on sustainability - Koen Thewissen (WeAReDaniel)
LEGISLATIVE LANDSCAPE OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY
- General introduction - sustainability and law in context - Evelyne Terryn, Bert Keirsbilck
- European and (international legislative and standardisation frameworks - Evelyne Terryn, Bert Keirsbilck
- Supply chain liability; corporate governance, European taxonomy - Laura Neven
- Ecodesign; consumer and competition law, Sustainable Products Initiative; greenwashing, servitisation; waste law - Evelyne Terryn, Bert Keirsbilck, Liesbeth Van Acker
POLICY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS
- Circular economy policy - Johan Eyckmans, Sandra Rousseau
- Consumer readiness for circular economy - Sandra Rousseau
- Impact of circular economy on the labour market - Kris Bachus
- Social impact of circular economy (just transition) - Kris Bachus
STUDY VISIT - Kringloopwinkel central depot (Heule)
HOW TO MONITOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
- Indicators of circularity, impact measurement of circularity - Luc Alaerts
- Digital technologies as enabler for a circular economy - Yoko Dams (VITO)
CIRCULAR MATERIALS AND PRODUCTS
- Sustainable (raw) materials, circularity of materials - Karel Van Acker
- Bio-based and biodegradable polymer materials - Wim Thielemans
STUDY VISIT - Beaulieu International Group
MODULE 2: ECONOMIC AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY
This module offers in-depth knowledge through specialised courses in the economic, financial and legal frameworks and models of circular economy and their impact on circular business models, as well as in corporate governance and its relation to sustainability.
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
- Corporate governance and sustainability - to be confirmed
- Legal framework for sustainable corporate governance - to be confirmed
- Labels and certification - Kristof De Brabandere (Sustenuto)
- Sustainability reporting - Anouk Van de Meulebroecke (KU Leuven - slidingdoors)
- Stakeholder management in a circular economy - to be confirmed
ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ASPECTS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY
- Economic models and policy - Bart Lahcen
- Extended producer responsibility (policy and legislation) - Bart Lahcen, to be confirmed
- Value proposition of the circular economy - Sandra Rousseau, Katrien Verleye (UGent)
- Financing of circular business models (legislation and in practice) - Veerle Colaert, Hilde Janssens (Econocom)
LEGAL ASPECTS OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY
- Overall legislative framework: as is & to be - Evelyne Terryn, Bert Keirsbilck, Anaïs Michel
- Green washing; labels and certification (product/service level) - Elias Van Gool
- Waste law - to be confirmed
- From waste to raw material - OVAM
- Contractual rights, obligations and liabilities in circular business models - Harry Slachmuylders, Christopher Borucki
- Circular procurement: legal context - Alexander Lemmens (Facilitair Bedrijf Vlaamse Overheid), Sofie Logie & Thomas Fiers (Publius
- Fiscal aspects of circular economy: legal context - Filip Debelva, Lorinde Massin
- Accounting aspects of circular business models - Zana Sahatqija, Tom Van Havermaet (Deloitte)
- Industrial testimonial - Seppe Eloot (Mediamarkt)
STUDY VISITS - 1) Barco, 2) Paneltim
›Organization
The Postgraduate Certificate Circular economy – Economic and legal opportunities and challenges is a collaboration of the Faculties of Law and Criminology, Economics and Business, Engineering Technology and Engineering Science.
›Practical
Course schedule
Sessions are taught in English and scheduled on Thursdays from 1:30 pm until 8:30 pm.
- Module 1: Oct 5 - Dec 14 (no class on Nov 2)
- Module 2: Feb 15 - May 16 (no classes during Easter holidays)
- Paper presentation: June 6
Location
2023-2024: KU Leuven Kulak, Kortrijk
2024-2025: KU Leuven, Leuven
Registration
Registration fee is € 5500 - register before September 22nd
Included: participation to the lessons, digital course material, catering and insurance. You also receive a KU Leuven student’s card.
Save on your registration by using the kmo-portefeuille (Theme: ‘duurzaamheid’ – advice: ‘efficiënt materiaal gebruik’). More information on kmo-portefeuille.be.
This programme is eligible for educational leave by the Brussels-Capital Region.
Contact information
Programme manager: Céline Platteau
›Accreditation
For this programme credits have been requested from:
- Order of Flemish Bars
- Institute for Corporate Lawyers
Related courses
Europees strafrecht Bijzondere informatieverplichtingen bij verkoop van vastgoed Masterclass Big Data and Predictive Analytics AI@work: designing the jobs of the future Notariaat | Rechtspersoon
Law
×
Entrepreneurship, strategy and innovation×
Sustainable business×
Sustainable technologies×