Sustainability and Circularity

Course goals

At the end of the course, the student will:

- Understand the broader context of the sustainable development goals, planetary boundaries and the role of chemistry in the sustainability transition
- Have knowledge of the main attributes and limitations of sustainable and circular chemistry
- Have insight into the most important tools to assess sustainability impact
- Know the potential usefulness, strengths and weaknesses of LCA and MFA
- Be able to critically interpret existing studies and carry out basic calculations
- Understand the impacts of modern production and consumption patterns
- Identify a trend in resource flows due to our production and consumption and analyze implications.

Content

Place in the curriculum
Sustainability and Circularity is a compulsory course of the Sustainable and Circular Chemistry (SCC)
Master’s program. Together with the Data Science for Chemists and Future of Chemistry courses it
constitutes the first mandatory module that kicks off the Master’s program in period 1. These three
modules are intended to provide the students with the appropriate overview of the recent
developments in the field of chemistry and the need for a repositioning of chemistry as a discipline as
key sustainability science, as well as provide them with essential general (data) science skills. In the
Sustainability and Circularity course we aim to put the field of sustainable and circular chemistry in the
broader context of sustainable development and the circular economy and to define the role chemistry
and chemists need to play to make a pivotal contribution to the sustainability transition. To appreciate
and be able to critically assess any efforts in sustainability or circularity science in general, requires
knowledge of the methods of assessing sustainability or circularity claims at the systems level. To this
extent, the students will learn the theory behind and application of methodologies such as Life Cycle
Assessment and Material Flow Analysis. The course thus provides an introduction that covers
sustainability considerations from the level of atoms and molecules to the systems levels of Earth and
society.

Brief course content
The course aims to introduce the concepts of sustainability and circularity, the frameworks behind it
and to put all this in the context of the role of chemistry as well as the repositioning needed within
chemistry itself to contribute to the main sustainability transitions. The topics will be presented from
a systems thinking perspective with an emphasis on critical assessment of the potential and limitations
of the concepts of sustainability and circularity. As mandated by the systems thinking approach, we
will connect the relevant considerations at the molecular or materials level to those at the systems
level. The course consists of an introduction to the chemistry of sustainability and circularity covering
both fundamental changes (in science) and applied changes (in industry and society). Here we will also
introduce relevant frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals, Planetary Boundaries,
Safe-and-Sustainable by Design, Circular Chemistry Principles, etc.

To be able to understand how sustainability and circularity can be assessed at the systems level, i.e. to
quantify environmental impact, carbon (and other kinds of) footprint, materials use, etc., Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) and Material Flow Analysis (MFA) will be introduced conceptually as well as in a
hands-on fashion, to get the students acquainted with these important methodological tools.
Overall, the course reinforces the mindset to understand concepts such as the weight of nations and
urban metabolism, which trace resource flows from extraction through to waste disposal. This is
particularly important to quantify as humanity strives to stay within planetary boundaries and reverse
disruptive effects on biogeochemical cycles.

The LCA component enables students to understand quantitatively the impacts along all stages of the
value chain for delivering goods and services. It shows how LCA is widely used in the private and public
sectors for eco-design purposes and sustainability decision-making. It includes how to define the goal
and scope of the analysis, the key concepts of functional units as well as of building an Inventory of
relevant resources and flows related to a chosen product or service. The last LCA step is the assessment
and interpretation of potential impacts of various kinds stemming from the unit of product or service
studied. This is crucial in identifying implications of producing and using chemicals, materials, products
and services, which is inextricably linked to various trade-offs. There is no such thing as zero impact,
zero cost or zero trade-off. Students will also apply parts of the LCA methodology to selected questions,
and will critically review other LCA studies.

The MFA component equips students with principles of tracking resource use and depletion via
indicators of extraction, production, trade and consumption. By accounting rigorously for stocks and
flows, it is possible to trace the causes and consequences of socio-economic activity. MFA improves
understanding and decision making about under-researched flows of materials and (toxic) chemicals
by-products and waste. Historically, significant outflows of emissions and by-products have not been
studied sufficiently and much less adequately managed. Knowledge of value chain flows and stocks
helps address environmental challenges resulting from traditional (hazardous) waste policy focusing
on largely incomplete substance lists and discharges to specific environmental media. Most residues
and emissions from resource extraction, product use and disposal of products are typically not
covered. Whilst regulatory focus has been on the processing stage, over half of toxic materials are
embedded in products, which may not receive appropriate treatment at disposal stage. Students will
learn about tracing resource flows at scales from regional to global.

The course involves lectures as well as two group assignments, with tutorials serving to guide the
students in getting the hands-on experience with LCA and MFA.

Attendance and active participation requirements
Given the nature of the course and the need to work on the assignments in groups, presence during
all lectures and tutorials is mandatory.