Circular Economy Business Models Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Sustainability Managers, Product Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-SC-033

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience in sustainability, product management, operations, procurement, strategy, finance or a related function.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Most organisations still earn revenue from one-way product sales while paying for volatile raw materials, waste handling and compliance. A circular model can retain product value through repair, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing and material recovery, but it changes pricing, contracts, reverse logistics, data and accountability. Leaders need to decide where circularity produces a credible commercial case rather than adding an unfunded environmental initiative. Decisions also affect asset ownership, customer acceptance, product liability, secondary-market quality, data access and supplier relationships. Without clear assumptions and measures, circular claims can outpace operational reality.

The course moves from circular economy principles and material-flow mapping to customer propositions, product design, circular business model patterns and reverse supply chains. Participants build the financial logic for product-as-a-service, rental, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and take-back offers. They use lifecycle assessment boundaries, Circular Transition Indicators, Material Circularity Indicator measures, whole-life costing, scenario analysis and procurement criteria to assess value, risk and environmental effects. The final modules address supplier agreements, governance, pilot selection, performance reporting and implementation roadmaps.

Delivered over five instructor-led days, the programme combines concise technical briefings with sector cases, group analysis, contract and operating-model simulations, and structured application planning. Cases can be drawn from manufacturing, consumer goods, construction, healthcare equipment, retail and public procurement. Participants leave with a circular business model canvas, material-flow map, unit-economics model, circularity measurement plan, pilot charter and 90-day implementation plan. Classroom delivery is available in more than 50 cities, with a live online option; successful participants receive a certificate of completion.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose linear value leakage using material-flow and lifecycle mapping
  • Design circular value propositions using customer jobs, pains and gains
  • Apply circular business model patterns to products, assets and services
  • Calculate unit economics for rental, repair, take-back and recovery models
  • Assess circular performance using ISO 59020 indicators and lifecycle boundaries
  • Specify circular procurement and supplier requirements for materials and services
  • Build an implementation roadmap with pilot charters, governance and KPIs
  • Present an investment case for a priority circular business model

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Ability to identify circular revenue and cost-saving opportunities
  • Confidence to evaluate product-as-a-service and take-back proposals
  • Practical methods for quantifying circularity and environmental trade-offs
  • Stronger business cases for repair, reuse and remanufacturing investments
  • A structured 90-day plan for applying circular models at work

For your organisation

  • Better selection of circular initiatives with defined commercial assumptions
  • Lower material losses through repair, reuse and recovery routes
  • Clearer requirements for suppliers, service partners and recovery providers
  • More credible circularity claims supported by boundaries and indicators
  • Faster conversion of pilot findings into funded implementation decisions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can identify material, product and revenue losses within a linear operating model.

  • Linear throughput, stock and flow concepts within circular economic systems
  • ISO 59004 principles: value retention, resource efficiency and regenerative flows
  • Material-flow mapping identifies virgin inputs, losses, stocks and recovery routes
  • Distinguishing technical cycles from biological cycles using the butterfly diagram
  • System boundaries, functional units and allocation choices in circular assessments
  • Policy drivers: extended producer responsibility, right-to-repair and waste hierarchy

Participants can formulate and prioritise circular value propositions for defined customer segments.

  • Value proposition mapping links user jobs, pains and circular gains
  • Business Model Canvas adapted for circular value creation and capture
  • Customer segments assessed for ownership, access, performance and resale preferences
  • Stakeholder maps expose incentives among users, suppliers, regulators and recovery partners
  • ReSOLVE actions generate circular opportunities: regenerate, share, optimise, loop, virtualise, exchange
  • Prioritisation matrix compares strategic fit, feasibility, impact and financial potential

Participants can specify design requirements that support longer product life and recovery.

  • Design for durability specifies wear limits, repair access and upgrade paths
  • Modularity and standardised interfaces support replacement, refurbishment and remanufacturing
  • Design for disassembly documents fasteners, adhesives, material joins and sequence
  • Material selection screens recycled content, toxicity, scarcity and recyclability
  • Bill of materials captures component composition, critical materials and provenance
  • Digital product passports define data fields, custodians, access rights and updates

Participants can select and configure circular models suited to products, assets and customers.

  • Product-as-a-service contracts align revenue with utilisation, maintenance and retention
  • Lease, rental and subscription models allocate asset risk and residual value
  • Performance-based contracts define service levels, payment triggers and asset ownership
  • Repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing models establish inspection and grading rules
  • Take-back schemes set return incentives, collection channels and disposition routes
  • Secondary-material marketplaces match recovered feedstock specifications with qualified buyers

Participants can design core processes for collecting, sorting and recovering returned products.

  • Reverse logistics network design balances collection density, transport cost and turnaround
  • Collection-point strategy uses customer convenience, contamination risk and return volumes
  • Triaging returned products separates reuse, repair, remanufacture, recycling and disposal
  • Quality grading protocols determine resale channels, recovery yields and warranty terms
  • Closed-loop supply chains coordinate forward demand with returned-material availability
  • Traceability controls record custody, condition, composition and treatment evidence

Participants can build and test the financial case for a circular business model.

  • Total cost of ownership compares purchase, use, maintenance, recovery and disposal
  • Unit economics models acquisition cost, service cost, utilisation and residual value
  • Cash-flow timing tests working-capital needs under lease and take-back models
  • Scenario analysis tests return rates, repair yields, commodity prices and demand
  • Investment appraisal applies NPV, IRR, payback and sensitivity analysis
  • Pricing structures combine fixed fees, usage charges, deposits and incentives

Participants can select indicators and evidence for circularity and environmental claims.

  • Life cycle assessment frames baseline and circular scenarios using ISO 14040
  • Material Circularity Indicator measures restorative flows, utility and virgin-material intensity
  • ISO 59020 circularity indicators distinguish direct, indirect and systems-level measures
  • GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories connect circular interventions with emissions reporting
  • Impact claims require baselines, data quality checks, boundaries and substantiation
  • Trade-off assessment tests carbon, water, toxicity, labour and biodiversity effects

Participants can embed circular requirements in procurement, supplier engagement and contracts.

  • Circular procurement criteria specify durability, repairability, take-back and recycled content
  • Supplier engagement requests material declarations, repair data and recovery commitments
  • Contract clauses assign data ownership, reverse-logistics duties and end-of-use obligations
  • Supplier scorecards evaluate traceability, recycled inputs, labour conditions and capacity
  • Due diligence identifies counterfeit parts, informal recovery and waste-export risks
  • Public procurement specifications incorporate whole-life cost and circular performance metrics

Participants can establish governance and risk controls for circular pilots and partnerships.

  • Portfolio screening selects pilots by value leakage, readiness, risk and replicability
  • Operating-model design assigns product, service, procurement, finance and compliance accountabilities
  • Stage-gate governance sets evidence thresholds for pilot continuation and scale-up
  • Risk registers address product liability, data privacy, quality and regulatory exposure
  • Change management maps affected roles, training needs, incentives and decision rights
  • Partnership models define commercial terms with repairers, collectors and recyclers

Participants can prepare an actionable roadmap for launching and managing a circular initiative.

  • Implementation roadmaps sequence pilots, capability building, data systems and investment decisions
  • Pilot charters define hypotheses, scope, success measures, owners and review dates
  • KPIs track return rates, utilisation, repair turnaround, recovered value and emissions
  • Management dashboards connect operational data with financial and environmental outcomes
  • Investment-case narratives explain assumptions, trade-offs, risks and decision requests
  • Individual application plans identify a priority model, stakeholders and first actions

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Circular business model canvas
  2. Material-flow mapping template
  3. Circular model unit-economics model
  4. Circularity measurement plan
  5. Reverse logistics design checklist
  6. 90-day circular implementation plan

Who should attend

  • Sustainability Managers — need commercially credible circular initiatives and performance measures
  • Product Managers — need to redesign propositions around durability, access and recovery
  • Operations Managers — need to establish repair, return and recovery processes
  • Procurement Managers — need circular specifications and supplier accountability
  • Strategy and Innovation Managers — need to select and test viable circular models
  • Finance and Investment Analysts — need to assess circular model costs, returns and risks

Skills and tools covered

Circular business designMaterial-flow mappingReverse logistics planningCircularity measurementUnit economics modellingImplementation roadmapping

Tools and standards

ISO 59004:2024, ISO 59020:2024, Material Circularity Indicator, ReSOLVE framework

How the course runs

Training methodology

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with sector cases, facilitated group analysis, model-building tasks, contract simulations and implementation planning. Participants map material flows, test circular value propositions, compare model economics and assess operational risks using realistic business scenarios. Group work examines decisions commonly faced by manufacturers, retailers, asset owners and public buyers. The instructor provides structured feedback on assumptions, measures and decision criteria. Each participant develops an application plan relevant to a product, service, asset class or supply-chain issue.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience in sustainability, product management, operations, procurement, strategy, finance or a related function. Familiarity with their organisation's products, supply chain, customer model or waste streams will help them apply the methods quickly. Basic confidence reading cost data and operational metrics is useful. No prior circular economy qualification is required, and participants do not need lifecycle assessment software, engineering design expertise or advanced financial modelling skills. The course explains the required concepts before applying them to business decisions.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should understand their organisation's products, services, operations or supply chain at a practical level. No previous circular economy certification, lifecycle assessment training or advanced finance expertise is required.

Bring a laptop for working with templates and case materials, plus any non-confidential information about a product, asset, service or waste stream. Participants may also bring an existing business case or sustainability target they want to test.

The course suits sustainability, product, operations, procurement, strategy and finance professionals responsible for changing how products and materials are designed, sold, used or recovered. It is especially useful for teams planning a repair, rental, take-back or remanufacturing initiative.

General sustainability courses commonly focus on reporting, policy and environmental management systems. This course concentrates on business model design, product life extension, reverse logistics, commercial economics and implementation decisions.

Participants can use the templates to map a priority product flow, assess a circular model and prepare a pilot charter. The resulting application plan identifies stakeholders, assumptions, measures and first actions for their workplace.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides approximately 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor input, case analysis, group work, model-building, discussion and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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