Delivering circular economy and sustainability training for chemical engineers

Chemical engineers work in a diverse range of organisations and have the capabilities to design in circularity and sustainability across business operations. However, what training existed around circular implementation wasn’t necessarily tailored to their needs or up-to-date with the latest developments in sustainable practices and processes.

The goal of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is to help their members engineer a sustainable world. As part of this commitment, the IChemE has established a Sustainability Hub and work to provide sustainable process engineering training courses developed by experts for chemical engineers.

As circularity and sustainability experts, Resource Futures was brought in to design, research and deliver on-demand, online and face-to-face tailored training courses focused on the circular economy and how it can be implemented by those working in chemical engineering.

Objectives

Using its in-house circularity expertise, Resource Futures has to date designed and delivered three training courses for the IChemE.

In all cases, the IChemE needed engaging, targeted content that could be delivered either on-demand, online, face-to-face or on site. By attending these courses, the aim was for chemical engineers to be able to increase their understanding of sustainable practices and apply them to their everyday work.

Approach

Each course was designed as either a high-end introductory or intermediate level course, with learning modules incorporating an appropriate blend of theory and interactive, visual or self-study activities and practical case studies.

Following the development of an outline course structure and learning objectives, course content was researched and produced calling on recent advances in knowledge and applications in chemical engineering disciplines. One course was created specifically as an on-demand course and the others were designed to be delivered either as a two-day live course in person or as a six-hour live online session.

For each course – whether on-demand or live, online or in-person – scripts and voice-overs were developed as needed, along with pre-attendance materials to ensure the sessions can provide as much benefit as possible to participants.

Working closely with the IChemE, the course content was peer reviewed or piloted before going live and a range of promotional activities were carried out to support their release, including introductory video and blogs.

Outcomes

The three circular economy training courses are now available through the IChemE:

The on-demand Circular Economy for Chemical Engineers offers an introduction to the circular economy in the process industries and highlights the role and responsibilities of chemical engineers within material flow systems;

Sustainability Measurement helps organisations understand what responsible sustainability measurement is and what tools can be used to demonstrate the impact of measures taken;

Material Resource Management and the Circular Economy helps engineers understand how to better manage material resources and reduce waste, enabling them to make strides towards a circular economy within their organisation.

Impact

Chemical engineers are involved at all stages of the lifecycle of materials and products across a wide range of industries. Armed with new knowledge and increased confidence, no matter what sector they’re in, these training courses help attendees identify and act on opportunities for embedding more circular practices, better material resource management and improved sustainability reporting into their work.

“We knew we could trust Resource Futures to deliver accurate, useful and actionable training around the circular economy. We were delighted with their comprehensive and collaborative approach, as well as their responsiveness and adaptability in working to shape these sessions to meet the specific needs of our members. We look forward to continuing to work with Resource Futures going forwards.”

Matt Stalker, Associate Director Commercial, IChemE