The scenario is set, resource consumption related to our throw-away culture is changing the landscape for which organizations can plan and operate with stable foreseeable horizons. As resources become depleted, organizations that can adapt to disruptive industry shifts related to allocation of these necessary finite resources will be able to survive the ecological and resource bottleneck that state, producers and,
consumers are already experiencing. To disrupt the Business as Usual paradigm we must understand how trends and tendencies in this bottlenecking will affect the sustainability of our organizations.

Innovation for the Green economy identifies and explores prevailing thoughts in applying economic system thinking to the actors at producer level to learn how we can create value in a transition to the circular economies of tomorrow. We explore this by understanding how business and organizations are adapting, and how design philosophies like that of Cradle to Cradle, and work by the Ellen Macarthur foundation and service models for delivering product value in the Performance Economy and Shared Economy will change the landscape of our economy towards that of a green future

We will explore three prevailing socio-economic theoretical constructions:
1) The Circular Economy as presented by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
2) Cradle to Cradle as presented by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
3) The Performance Economy as described by Walther Stahel *You do not need to buy these texts, excerpts will be provided in class

This theoretical framework will be the launch pad to explore product alternatives, redesign, product service systems, and dematerialization strategies using the following analyses:
The class will explore the use of tools like Business Model Generation, Value Proposition Design, and Life-Cycle thinking in an effort to explore how pervading theories about the development of the future economies and the products in them can be leveraged to create true sustainable value for organizations.

The student can
-Understand, differentiate and explain the concepts of Circular Economy, Cradle to Cradle, and Performance Economy.
-Understand and identify stakeholders in a systems thinking approach.

The student can:
-Apply systems thinking approaches to evaluating the role of organizations in circular or cooperative value chains
-Apply analytical methods in relation to understanding organizational processes and the effect of stakeholders on their structure
-Apply analytical methods in relation to evaluating organizations success and challenges with an eye towards affecting change with regards to stakeholders -Utilize quantitative data to compare and determine choices and strategy for product value chains.

The student can:
-Develop strategies for creating value in a system thinking perspective through the lens of a single organization.
-Innovate and create potential growth strategies for organizations through product alternatives, redesign, product service systems and dematerialization strategies.