Applied Sustainability Engineering

Applied Sustainability Engineering, the second course in the "Applied Sustainability for Technical Managers" specialization discusses the techniques used by engineers and scientists to develop and assess the environmental impact of products and processes required to make those products. It begins with a discussion of different renewable energy technologies and their economics – highlighting how continued reductions in cost have made wind and solar power the least expensive way to generate electricity. It then addresses carbon footprints and how they are determined, applying a practical example where you determine your residential and transportation carbon footprints. From there, the course transitions to defining sustainable and circular products and packaging and showcasing several examples. As Technical Managers, you’ll need metrics for determining whether a product is truly sustainable, so the course introduces techniques such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Streamlined LCA (S-LCA), and the Eco-Audit methodologies. The course concludes with an overview of sustainable product design frameworks, including Cradle-to-Cradle, Design for the Circular Economy, and Biomimicry, just to name a few.

This course is very practical, introducing you to several areas critical to managing and learning about sustainability initiatives, from assessing the environmental and social impacts of a product or process, to designing more sustainable and circular products. If you want to work towards having a positive impact on the planet and on society, then this course is for you!

This course was developed in collaboration with Siemens Digital Industries Software and is part of the "Design for the Circular Economy" collection. Learners who complete and pass the course can receive an industry-recognized digital badge.

The “Design for the Circular Economy” microcredential and graduate certificate are developed around the educational goals of providing technical, business, and leadership knowledge and skills that inspire the transformation towards a more circular economy. This includes gaining technical knowledge to apply circular economy principles in product design, minimizing waste and maximizing impact; developing business acumen to implement innovative circular economic models that prioritize sustainability and resilience; and acquiring leadership strategies to communicate effectively and inspire change within an organization.

This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Engineering in Engineering Management (ME-EM) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The ME-EM is designed to help engineers, scientists, and technical professionals move into leadership and management roles in the engineering and technical sectors. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the ME-EM is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience. Learn more about the ME-EM program at https://www.coursera.org/degrees/me-engineering-management-boulder.