Sustainability and materials

Overview of sustainability concepts

• Relevant terminology, such as materials life cycle, linear vs. circular economy, UN sustainable development goals, green chemistry, end-of-life scenarios
• Metrics and tools to assess sustainability, such as material intensity, carbon footprint/handprint, life cycle assessment

Case studies

• Identifying environmental impacts across material lifecycles, from raw material extraction, processing, manufacture, transport, use, to end of life
• Learning via case studies, such as packaging, plastics, batteries, textiles, engineered foods, metals, ceramics, rare earth materials, scarce materials, conflict materials

Challenges and opportunities

• Biorefinery
• Recycling and biodegradability
• Materials from renewable resources
• Local value chains/sustainable business models (e.g., materials as a service)
• Socio-political contexts of materials

Guest lectures

• Guest lecture from industry (TBD), on sustainability drivers and strategies
• Guest lecture from  different academic discipline (TBD)