Synopsis of the Case

Target Group

The case is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate levels in courses on strategic decision making, sales management, entrepreneurship, and circular economy.

Learning Objectives

After completing the case, students should be able to understand the following:

• Apply theoretical knowledge on revenue modelling to a practical business case
• Understand, reflect upon, and contrast different revenue model approaches
• Identify, design, plan and assess a revenue model for the specific case (advantages and disadvantages).

Teaching material

Download the full case study

Download the teaching guide

The post REFLOW CASE STUDY #6: Finding the Bread and Butter in Milan’s Circular Food Waste Solution appeared first on REFLOW.

Leonora introduces the Doughnut Unrolled, a concept that takes us from the Doughnut to four ‘lenses’ that invite city stakeholders to look at the interplay between local aspirations and global responsibilities– both socially and ecologically – and identify possible entry-points for transformative action.

Learn more about DEAL https://doughnuteconomics.org

Listen to the episode below or directly access and subscribe on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

The post REFLOW PODCAST #7: Leonora Grcheva on doughnut economics for circular transition of cities appeared first on REFLOW.

This class aims to introduce you to the world of business model innovation, a key enabler to transition to a circular economy.  The class was developed by Ecovala. Ecovala is a Finland based consultancy focusing on circular and regenerative economy with a focus on business model and systems innovation. Ecovala has been leading the development of the circular.academy since 2013, offering tools and canvases that can support companies and start-ups to design circular business models. 

Watch the class below:

The post REFLOW Masterclass #2: Business model innovation: a key enabler of a circular and regenerative economy appeared first on REFLOW.

Course Objectives

The 5-parts course offers an introduction to business models, defining the concept and its key elements. It introduces the concept of sustainable business models, showing the main differences and archetypes existing in this field. As Circular Business Models are a subset of sustainable business models, learners will learn how to categorise circular business models based on their value creation dynamics. The course also provides  a process and a set of  tools to design circular business models from a top down perspective, starting from cities needs, as well as from a bottom-up perspective, looking at how existing businesses and start-ups can create new value propositions aiming at circular impact.

• Lesson 1 provides basic knowledge around the concept of business model.
• Lesson 2 introduces sustainable business models and its various archetypes.
• Lesson 3 deep dives into circular business models and its value creation mechanisms.
• Lesson 4 introduces a process to define circular value propositions starting from city challenges.
• Lesson 5 details a step by step process to design circular business models using a portfolio of circular design tools.

Target group

 City representatives in charge of business support, Business owners, Incubators, start-ups.

Level

Intermediate level

Access

Register for free and access the course on the REFLOW Academy

The post REFLOW E-Learning Course #3: Circular Business Model Innovation for Regenerative Cities appeared first on REFLOW.

Course Objectives

A Circular Economy requires a systemic shift where all services – from water to waste to energy – are provided to citizens by making efficient use of natural resources and optimising their reuse. Economic activities are planned and carried out in a way that closes, slows, and narrows resource loops across value chains, and infrastructures are designed and built to avoid linear lock-in.

Cities hold an essential position in implementing this shift: cities are at the centre of key decisions which determine economic growth, social well-being, and environmental benefits.

Luckily, a multitude of city levers are already available to close loops, reduce waste, reuse resources, and restore ecosystems while also implementing long-term recovery strategies for more resilient, sustainable, and thriving societies. The key challenge is to understand how to successfully orchestrate this transition.

In this course, we will explain why cities play a fundamental role in the transition to a circular economy, outline the benefits and challenges of taking a circular approach to city transformation, and provide you with a framework and a set of tools to implement the transition in your own city!

Lesson 1 provides you with an overview of the current pressures influencing the sustainability of cities and explains why circularity can provide relevant answers.

Lesson 2 positions circular cities within the long history of green and sustainability concepts applied to the urban context.

Lesson 3 deep dives into the benefits and challenges of a circular city transition.

Lesson 4 provides you with an overview of the EU landscape surrounding circular cities.

Lesson 5 takes you to a circular city transition journey and details principles and levers that can support you in managing this transition.

Lesson 6 provides you with specific tools and methods that can help you reaching your circularity goals

Lesson 7 wraps up our course and offers you a holistic overview of everything addressed in the course to help you prepare for the quiz.

Target group

 City representatives

Level

Intermediate/Advanced level

Access

Register for free and access the course on the REFLOW Academy

The post REFLOW E-Learning Course #2: Governing Circular Economy in Cities appeared first on REFLOW.

Course Objectives

The objective of the course is to provide a general overview of the concept of circular economy, from its origins to how to implement Circular Economy principles as a citizen, a business or a public authority.  

• Lesson 1 challenges you to re-think sustainable development and introduce you to alternative approaches to our current economic system.  
• Lesson 2 outlines the essential Circular Economy terms and their definitions. 
• Lesson 3 explores the rich history behind the Circular Economy and the discourses surrounding the future of the Circular Economy.  
• Lesson 4 focuses on the benefits of a Circular Economy approach while also sharing the challenges faced in implementation and practical, proven responses to those challenges. 

• Lesson 5 illustrates the mindset and skills needed for moving forward with Circular Economy transitions and how the Circular Economy interacts with megatrends.  
• Lesson 6 explains how the European Commission has been implementing circular activities into their policies and planning.  
• Lesson 7 showcases innovative examples of Circular Economy transitions in Europe across five different sectors.  
• Lesson 8 wraps up our course and offers you a holistic overview of everything addressed in the course to help you prepare for the quiz.  

Target group

Citizens, city representatives, business owners, NGOs. 

Level

Beginner level

Access

Register for free and access the course on the REFLOW Academy

The post REFLOW E-learning course #1: Introduction to Circular Economy appeared first on REFLOW.

Synopsis of the Case

This case is based on a real organisation that has carried out activities as part of the European Union Horizon 2020 project, REFLOW. While the case is based on a real organisation and other elements, the case is fictionalised. The main protagonist is the coordinator of the Cluj-Napoca pilot city, Mihai Barbu. The coordinator and his team encounter a barrier to accessing energy consumption data needed for a technological solution which they believe could help to raise awareness on energy consumption and lead to the increased energy efficiency, reduction in energy consumption, and towards the overall energy and circular transition in the city. The gatekeepers of the data, the partly state-owned energy distributor, does not want to release their data needed for the technological solution. With the clock ticking on the REFLOW project’s timespan, the coordinator must now figure out what the next steps of the Cluj-Napoca pilot will be. The students are asked to assess what could be done in this situation. Could there be any potential for making a convincing argument or should they go in a different direction, if so, what?

Target Group

The case is suitable for courses in energy transition, strategy and innovation, data governance, strategic decision making, and sustainability courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Learning Objectives

The learning objectives of this case aim to have students evaluate and assess the situation with sustainable and circular projects and the barriers to data sharing. With the pressing need to transition towards more sustainable and circular economies, technological solutions play a key role in ensuring this. However, accessing data is not always easy, especially when there are challenges associated with actors and large public organisations that are more rigid and bureaucratic. After completion of this case, students should be able to understand the following:

• The barriers to data sharing for technological solutions when dealing with bureaucratic and rigid actors
• Learn about the importance of energy transitions and the reality of making sustainable and circular solutions when you do not have feasible access to the data

The case also allows students to make their own assessment of the situation and to identify pathways for how to move forward with a project when things do not go as planned. Students can also be asked to evaluate the scalability and replicability of this place-based situation and if their solution to the dilemma could be translated to other contexts.

Teaching material

Download the full case study

Download the teaching guide

The post REFLOW CASE STUDY #5: ENERGETIC EFFORTS IN CLUJ-NAPOCA appeared first on REFLOW.

This masterclass aims to introduce you to the world of biomaterials from a circular and regenerative perspective, emphasizing the needs, analysing and taking into account multiple layers of this emerging topic. 

The Masterclass was developed by Materiom. Materiom provides open-source recipes and data on materials made from abundant sources of natural ingredients, like agricultural waste. By making this knowledge open, the organisation accelerates materials development and lower barriers to entry in materials markets around the world. Materiom works with companies, cities and communities to support the development of local biomaterial supply chains that nourish local ecologies and economies. 

Watch the class below:

The post REFLOW Masterclass #1: Biomaterials, a key ingredient for a circular and regenerative economy appeared first on REFLOW.

Synopsis of the Case

This case is based on a real organisation that has carried out activities as part of the European Union Horizon 2020 project, REFLOW. The case is fictional but, inspired by real events that have occurred.

The protagonist of this case is the head of the Wastewater Heat Department at the water agency Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB). BWB is responsible to providing drinking water and wastewater treatment for the city of Berlin. These services and supplies are considered critical infrastructures, and any disruptions to their operations could cause a series of challenges and risks for the city and Germany as a whole. The case focuses on the dilemma of the head of the Wastewater Heat Department as they assess whether to release data on these critical infrastructures in the name of a greener and more circular and regenerative future.

The case is set 2.5 years into the 3-year timeline of the REFLOW project, centring around a solution that the Berlin pilot team has developed to harness the potential of wastewater heat as a climate-neutral source for the city through the power of data. BWB’s R&D Department is a key member of the Berlin pilot team, where they have played an instrumental role in giving access to key data for the development of the solution, the Wastewater Heat Radar. As things were on the way to finalising the development of this solution, the Waste Heat Department, a department in BWB that were outside of the REFLOW project informed the Berlin pilot team that they need to put a halt to their solution. With the rising concern of critical infrastructure (in)security and the obligations for BWB to ensure that these supplies of water and wastewater services are not interrupted by threats or attacks, they needed to discuss the pros and cons of releasing this critical infrastructure data.

Students are asked to put themselves in the shoes of the head of the Wastewater Heat Department at BWB and to consider the question: should a stop be put on the release of wastewater heat potential data or risk the potential security threat to critical infrastructure in Berlin? Pros and cons are outlined in the case study including climate-neutral goals alongside the risks and vulnerabilities associated with publishing information and data on critical infrastructure.

Target Group

The case is suitable for undergraduate and graduate levels in courses on strategic decision making, the energy transition and innovation, cybersecurity, and circular economy.

Learning Objectives

After completion of the case, students should be able to understand the following:

• The potential of wastewater heat as a climate-neutral source of energy
• The importance of data in circular transitions, specifically for wastewater heat
• The challenges of handling critical infrastructure data and how this affects innovative technological solutions
• Arguing for or against a decision

Teaching material

Download the full case study

Download the teaching guide

The post REFLOW CASE STUDY #4: Is Berlin getting into hot (waste) water? appeared first on REFLOW.

Explore data on circular jobs in over 100 cities

Listen to the episode below or directly access and subscribe on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

The post REFLOW PODCAST #6: Esther Goodwin Brown on Circular Jobs appeared first on REFLOW.