Sustainable Construction in a Circular Economy (Coursera)

Sustainable Construction in a Circular Economy (Coursera)

This course takes a wide-lens view of the role of materials decisions in circular design and the promotion of a healthier world. You find out how to execute a healthier project. You learn why healthier materials matter to the entire project team and the importance of communication between teams. You look at circularity, embodied carbon reduction, and the evolution of the built environment. You examine the role designers play in executing a healthier project, from construction to installation to use, and its significance in the context of cities.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Participants in the course should have leadership-level career experience in design, architecture, contracting, or a similar field.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
• Analyze the role of contractors, subcontractors, and material procurement in the execution of a healthier project
• Discuss the relationship between circular design and design innovation
• Examine the capacity of material systems to contribute to a circular, low-carbon, regenerative, and equitable world
This course is part of the Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building Specialization.

What you'll learn

  • Analyze the role of contractors, subcontractors, and material procurement in the execution of a healthier project
  • Discuss the relationship between circular design and design innovation
  • Examine the capacity of material systems to contribute to a circular, low-carbon, regenerative, and equitable world

Syllabus

From Blueprint to Building
Module 1
Welcome to From Blueprint to Building. This week, we'll examine how to take a project from the blueprint (or design plan, often refered to as a 'construction document' in this course) to the completed project. We'll learn how specific materials impact the overall health of the project and what that means for the construction team. We will explore the material specification, procurement, and handling processes. By the end of this week, you will know how to implement protective measures throughout the lifecycle of a project. Let's get started!

Disrupting the Status Quo: Design through the Lens of Circularity
Module 2
Welcome to Disrupting the Status Quo: Design through the Lens of Circularity. This week, we'll learn how linear economic models have given need for a more circular approach in the future. We will explore how the reuse of materials creates economic opportunities and change in the marketplace. By the end of this week, you will understand how collaboration, trust, and knowledge sharing are essential for generating client buy-in to a healthier materials approach. Let's get started!

Professional Practice in an Evolving World
Module 3
Welcome to Professional Practices in an Evolving World. This week, we'll learn about the movement toward circular and regenerative cities and see some examples of how cities around the world are implementing circularity. We will explore the capacity of material systems to contribute to a more circular, low-carbon, regenerative, and equitable world. By the end of this week, you will have discovered some strategies that you can take forward to build a healthier, thriving future. Let's get started!

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Diseño de Proyectos de Desarrollo (Coursera) Coursera
Inter-American Development Bank - IDB

Diseño de Proyectos de Desarrollo (Coursera)

¿Sabes cómo hacer para que tus proyectos logren los resultados esperados? Un diseño adecuado es el primer paso hacia un proyecto exitoso. Este curso te brindará los conocimientos y herramientas fundamentales para diseñar proyectos de desarrollo sostenibles, evaluables y que cumplan con los objetivos propuestos.

Jun 22nd 2026
3 Weeks
Planning for Climate Change in African Cities (Coursera) Coursera
Erasmus University Rotterdam,United Cities and Local Governments of Africa,African Local Government Academy,Institute for Housing and Urban Development

Planning for Climate Change in African Cities (Coursera)

Climate change poses a threat to economic growth and long-term prosperity of many countries around the world. Africa is not an exception, considering the actual and potential impacts of climate change and climate variability that will threaten its vulnerable sectors and human populations. African countries are projected to experience changing rainfall patterns, rising sea levels, and higher temperatures that will affect food security, agricultural production, water availability, and public health, among others. These climate change impacts and climate variability can further produce social and political problems, such as rural-urban migration and water resource disputes.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing Sustainability and Development (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing Sustainability and Development (Coursera)

We’re excited you’re here! This course, “Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Addressing Sustainability and Development,” is the first course in the upcoming Sustainability and Development MasterTrack Certificate program (Fall 2020), but you can also take this course as a stand-alone learning opportunity.

Jun 24th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Strategy and Sustainability (Coursera) Coursera
IESE Business School

Strategy and Sustainability (Coursera)

Business and environmental sustainability are not natural bedfellows. Business is about making money. Sustainability is about protecting the planet. Business is measured in months and quarters. Sustainability often requires significant short term costs to secure a sometimes uncertain long-term benefit. To some activists, all executives are exploitative, selfish one percenters. To some executives, all activists are irresponsible, unyielding extremists.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Sustainable Fashion (Coursera) Coursera
Copenhagen Business School

Sustainable Fashion (Coursera)

Sometimes when we say we work with sustainable fashion people look at us like... "Mmmm, is it really possible for something like fashion to be sustainable?" And let's face it, people are right being suspicious. If anything the fashion industry has become increasingly unsustainable over the last decades, using more and more natural resources and creating more and more waste.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Sustainability through Soccer: Systems-Thinking in Action (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Sustainability through Soccer: Systems-Thinking in Action (Coursera)

This course takes learners on a journey through a progression of systems-thinking and sustainability concepts. Using the beautiful game of soccer as an analogy, we'll work together to illuminate real-world interdependencies (such as between climate change and human rights), building the chain of concepts in a fun, accessible way. Soccer nerds and newbies alike will be entertained and, ultimately, rewarded with the epiphanies that come from seeing in systems more clearly.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
The Effect of Fires on People, Property and the Environment (Coursera) Coursera
University of Maryland, College Park

The Effect of Fires on People, Property and the Environment (Coursera)

Fires impact people, property and the environment in all countries around the world. In some cases, the resulting losses are extraordinary, causing hundreds of deaths, widespread damage to property and contents and significant impacts on the environment. More often, fires may cause a single casualty or affect a single home, though the effects are still highly significant to those affected and collectively are substantial. This course will provide an overview of the challenges posed by fire as well as the fire safety solutions that are available to meet those challenges.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Applied Sustainability Engineering (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado Boulder,Siemens

Applied Sustainability Engineering (Coursera)

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.

Jun 27th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Solar Energy Systems Overview (Coursera) Coursera
University at Buffalo

Solar Energy Systems Overview (Coursera)

By the end of this course, learners will have acquired a broad understanding of the history and mechanics behind converting light into electricity, commonly known as photovoltaics (PV). They are empowered to recognize and describe elements of a PV system, enabling them to: compare the most common types of solar cells, sketch a solar PV system, and analyze differences between rooftop and ground mounting configurations.

Jun 22nd 2026
3 Weeks
Solar Energy and Electrical System Design (Coursera) Coursera
University at Buffalo

Solar Energy and Electrical System Design (Coursera)

This course supplies learners with the insights necessary for properly planning, and therefore successfully installing, a photovoltaic (PV) system per design specifications. It directs learners through the important steps of initial site inspection and evaluating appropriate locations for PV systems, and features unique elements of residential, small, industrial and utility-scale solar applications.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Photovoltaic Systems (Coursera) Coursera
Technical University of Denmark - DTU

Photovoltaic Systems (Coursera)

This course offers you advanced knowledge within the field of photovoltaic system technology. We'll learn about the solar resource and how photovoltaic energy conversion is used to produce electric power. From this fundamental starting point we'll cover the design and fabrication of different solar cell and module technologies, the various photovoltaic system components, how to design a photovoltaic plant and carry out energy yield simulations, essentials in energy economics, O&M and reliability assessment, as well as the role of photovoltaic energy in sustainable energy systems.

Jun 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Economics of Agro-Food Value Chains (Coursera) Coursera
Technische Universität München - TUM

The Economics of Agro-Food Value Chains (Coursera)

In this course, you learn how the agro-food value chain approaches the challenge of constantly improving its competitiveness by producing high quality food and products and also aiming to attain greater sustainability. Some of the topics of this course are: the notion of quality for food and agricultural products and consumer value; how to conduct market research in this field; labelling, branding and pricing strategies, as-well as innovation in the agro-food sector; how sustainability can be used as a competitive advantage through corporate social responsibility: the role and different types of industrial standards; the different forms of coordination in the chain, in particular with regard to the retailing and distribution sector.

Jun 24th 2026
5-12 Weeks