Kate Black

The Dutch Week of the Circular Economy (15th to 19th January) is an annual celebration of the opportunities of the circular economy and a chance to inform more people on how to get involved. To enable people to join in, Metabolic is hosting two masterclasses from its suite of educational programs at a discounted rate:

- Designing the Circular Cities of the Future: 9.30am, Wednesday 17 January
- Building Circular Food Systems: 2.00pm, Wednesday 17 January

Spaces are limited so book fast.

In celebration of Dutch Circular Economy Week (15-19 January), Metabolic is offering two Masterclasses from our suite of sustainability education programs at a discounted rate. On Wed 17th January, we invite you to take part in Building Circular Food Systems. (Note: spaces are limited)

The global food system is broken. Learn from the experts about the root causes and how systems can guide us to alternative and resilient agriculture practices.

Unsustainable agricultural practices and their impact on the environment are global drivers of climate change, biodiversity loss, and future food insecurity. In 2015, Metabolic published the Global Food System Analysis, offering a comprehensive overview of how our food system operates. Yet it can be difficult to translate today.

This Masterclass is relevant for a range of individuals and organizations, including progressive industry groups and city delegations. We'll take you through the food system and help you apply the lessons. We use our own experience, such as developing polydomes, aquaponics systems and a food forest, to highlight living examples and pitfalls of urban agriculture. And we share our experience working with cities, regions and industry leaders on developing transformative strategies around food.

What you leave with:
- Systemic understanding or why we need to change the food system.
- Concrete interventions that actually make a difference when implemented.
- Inspiration of alternative agriculture systems that cut through the hype.

ABOUT METABOLIC:
Metabolic is a consulting and venture building company that uses systems to tackle major sustainability challenges. Our overarching mission is to transition the global economy to a fundamentally sustainable and circular state. We provide strategies and tools, crunch data, create new technologies, build pilots and scale up innovations. Headquartered in Amsterdam, we have an international and interdisciplinary team working with governments, businesses, and non-profits around the world. We have developed our Masterclasses to take our work to a wider audience, enabling more people to act sustainably.

This Masterclass is part of a suite of educational programs run by Metabolic, providing you with the knowledge and skills to understand and act on the most fundamental principles of sustainability. Led by our expert consultants, the half-day class combines both theory and practical elements, backed up by live case studies, and you can start applying these concepts immediately. The sesssion is held at Metabolic Lab, our playground of applied sustainability at De Ceuvel.

Questions? Email info@metabolic.nl
For more info on our wider range of Masterclasses: Head to www.metabolic.nl

In celebration of Dutch Circular Economy Week (15-19 January), Metabolic is offering two Masterclasses from our suite of sustainability education programs at a discounted rate. On Wed 17th January, we invite you to take part in Designing the Circular Cities of the Future. (Note: spaces are limited)

Drawing on in-house expertise and local Amsterdam examples, this course will provide you with the skills and theories on how to design, develop and implement the circular cities of the future.
Geared towards international city officials, urban planners and utility providers, this Masterclass takes participants through the ins and outs of circular cities. While cities occupy only 3% of Earth's surface area, they house more than half of the world's population, consume about 75% of the global resources and emit 60-80% of greenhouse emissions. However, environmental challenges and urbanization opportunities are inherently connected. As cities are also the major engine for economic growth, they can lead the way towards a circular economy by transforming the built environment.

In this Masterclass, we provide a crash course on the principles and theory of urban metabolisms and circular city development. Relevant case studies such as De Ceuvel, Schoonschip and Circular Buiksloterham - projects that Metabolic has helped pioneer - will explore the design principles in practice.

What you leave with:
- Insider information of the common pitfalls, benefits, and barriers to transitioning cities to perform at high circularity, with lessons from De Ceuvel, Schoonschip and Circular Buiksloterham.
- A clear understanding of the nuances of local stakeholder management is necessary for making progress on a local circular economy.
- Reliable strategies to identify low-hanging fruit and design pilots that educate, build support, and accelerate the transition.

ABOUT METABOLIC:
Metabolic is a consulting and venture building company that uses systems to tackle major sustainability challenges. Our overarching mission is to transition the global economy to a fundamentally sustainable and circular state. We provide strategies and tools, crunch data, create new technologies, build pilots and scale up innovations. Headquartered in Amsterdam, we have an international and interdisciplinary team working with governments, businesses, and non-profits around the world. We have developed our Masterclasses to take our work to a wider audience, enabling more people to act sustainably.

This Masterclass is part of a suite of educational programs run by Metabolic, providing you with the knowledge and skills to understand and act on the most fundamental principles of sustainability. Led by our expert consultants, the half-day class combines both theory and practical elements, backed up by live case studies, and you can start applying these concepts immediately. The sesssion is held at Metabolic Lab, our playground of applied sustainability at De Ceuvel.

Questions? Email info@metabolic.nl
For more info on our wider range of Masterclasses: Head to www.metabolic.nl

Applications are now open for an exciting new addition to UvA’s annual summer educational programming. ‘The Circular City: Towards a Sustainable Urban Ecosystem’ is a three week intensive course that will be jointly run by UvA and Metabolic, and takes place in Amsterdam in July 2018.

Amsterdam is at the heart of the transition to the circular economy. Through the work of organizations based in the city, the commitment of the local and national governments and a number of on the ground programs and innovations, the city is helping to reveal the opportunities of the circular economy and practical ways to get there.

Closely associated with this movement has been Metabolic. As well as our broader work establishing sustainable urban and regional economies across the Netherlands, we’ve been working with Amsterdam specifically on circular tendering for the built environment, as well as creating circular neighbourhoods and buildings. The new summer school program with UvA builds on Metabolic’s experiences, in the city where these ideas are most actively taking root.

In ‘The Circular City’ course, students will learn how to connect urban material, water, and energy flows to build a truly sustainable city. Due to their environmental impact, cities play a crucial role in the transition towards sustainable societies. Despite the fact that they occupy only 3% of the global terrestrial surface, cities house more than half of the world’s population, consume 7% of its natural resources, and are directly and indirectly responsible for 60 to 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Dr Mendel Giezen of the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research at the University of Amsterdam is Academic Director of the program. He said: “The interdisciplinary and hands-on course we’ve set up with Metabolic unravels the complexity behind truly sustainable urban development. We use Amsterdam as a case study for analysis and action and while immersed within this innovative city, students will learn about several aspects of urban resilience from ecological, economic, and cultural perspectives. We’re looking forward to welcoming a broad range of international students to this fast growing and increasingly important area of study.”

The University of Amsterdam (UvA) is a leading international research university, with five faculties and over 30,000 students. The Summer Programmes Office at the Graduate School of Social Science specifically welcomes students from 49 countries in 17 courses ranging from cycling infrastructure to migration to conflict resolution. ‘The Circular City’ is open to Masters students in select disciplines, and also welcomes applications from senior undergraduate students, as well as professionals already working on these topics in their home cities. Given the nature of the course, a number of scholarships are also open to students joining.

Nadine Galle and Gerard Roemers, Consultants at Metabolic, are Co-academic Directors for the program. Nadine said: “Cities demand our focus if we are to accelerate the necessary transition to circular and sustainable systems, both locally and globally. We are really excited to be partnering with the UvA in offering what promises to be a truly inspirational, as well a practical learning experience. Students will move from analysis, to design and planning, and finally to implementation, completing a final project that brings all their new knowledge together to leverage the potential of cities.”

For Metabolic, the summer school builds on our existing range of educational programming, which includes a new suite of Masterclasses. These short courses have been designed to provide organizations with essential knowledge and skills to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future. In addition to a Masterclass in circular cities, classes also include exploring the global food system, and the new economy, in addition to how powerful communications can lead to sustainability shifts.

For more information on ‘The Circular City’ and for application and admission details, go to the UvA Summer School website: http://summerschool.uva.nl/content/summer-courses/the-circular-city-towards-a-sustainable-urban-ecosystem/the-circular-city-towards-a-sustainable-urban-ecosystem