2023/2024

Minor in Circular Economy

Description

The Minor concept

A minor gives you the opportunity of having a second specialization in your degree. The minor is a bundle of three to four electives that can be chosen separately but if chosen together rewards a minor.

Purpose

Circular economy has gained increased attention by citizens, politicians, public authorities, NGOs, businesses, EU, UN and in particular by manufacturing companies. Circular economy is widely acknowledged as an innovative approach to operationalize sustainability in business and supply/value chains, that addresses the growing pressure on finite resources and climate change challenges. The rise of the global consuming class and related exponentially growing use of raw materials, challenge long-term global material balance. The global ´village´ overshooting the ecological ceiling earlier and earlier each year, causing a natural capital deficit. Therefore, the linear economy with its ´take-make-use-dispose´ consumption patterns could be replaced by principles of a circular economy system, seeking to recover and restore material balance in order to support future generation’s consumption possibilities.

The Minor in Circular Economy provides students with broad knowledge and insights applicable and needed for companies who want to change their linear business model into a circular economy business model and value chains. Skills gained from this minor enable students to facilitate changes towards circular economy among stakeholders at both an internally and at the external systemic governmental level. The competencies obtained in the minor can be utilized in both private companies and public organizations, and will be applicable at strategic as well as tactical level within organizations. 

Structure

The below table lists the structure and the ECTS credits of the individual courses. The course descriptions are available in the online course catalogue. Direct links are inserted in the below table.

Course ECTS
Circular Economy – Business models for the 21st Century 7.5
Circular Economy – Transitioning to circular supply chains 7.5
Circular Economies for Sustainability (online course) 7.5

Content

In short, the circular economy is an economic system that is regenerative and restorative by design. Powered by renewable energy and by minimizing leakages to incineration and landfills, CE tries to keep the resources at highest possible value at all times. CE is having a higher complexity than linear business models due to the demand of cross-sectoral collaboration, and it brings a potential to decouple monetary economic growth from growth in virgin resource extraction. In order to manage the transformation from a linear economy towards a circular economy, new ways of thinking business are needed and it starts by getting to know more about CE.  

Examinations

The minor consists of the examinations listed below. The learning objectives and the regulations of the individual examinations are prescribed in the online course catalogue. Direct links to the individual examinations are inserted in the table below.

Exam name Exam form Gradingscale Internal/external exam ECTS
Circular Economy - Business models for the 21st Century Oral exam based on written product 7-point grading scale Internal exam 7.5
Circular Economy - Transitioning to circular supply chains Oral exam 7-point grading scale Internal exam 7.5
Circular Economies for Sustainability Written sit-in exam on CBS' computers 7-point grading scale Internal exam 7.5

Further information

The Minor in Circular Economy is a cross-departmental corporation between Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC), Institut for Produktion og Erhvervsøkonomi (PEØ), and Department of Marketing (MARKTG). Associate Professor Jesper Clement from Department of Marketing is coordinator of the Minor.

Minor coordinator

Jesper Clement, associate professor at Department of Marketing
The minor is a cross-departmental contribution based within the CBS Circularity group.

Study Board

The minor in Circular Economy is offered by the Study Board for the Master of Science Program in Economics and Business Administration.

How to sign up

If you want to sign up for the minor in accounting and finance, you have to select Minor in Circular Economy (CCMVM1018U) when you sign up for electives.You will then subsequently be signed up for all three courses.You do not have to select all three courses individually.