[S3] Circular Innovation Workshop

Course Description

Many organisations have focused mainly on reducing carbon. Yet Circular Design is one of the most important steps in putting ESG into practice. This workshop helps teams move beyond traditional linear thinking, embedding sustainability into product development from the very beginning, and bringing circular principles into everyday meetings, exhibitions, and events. Through Circular Design Thinking, participants learn how to build the operational resilience their organisations need in times of change.

Three Highlights

1. Carbon reduction at the source and Circular Design: reshape the product life cycle from the earliest stages of research and development, and make better use of materials and resources.
2. Circularity in everyday operations: bring circular principles into Circular Meetings and Circular Exhibitions, making sustainability a practical part of how the organisation works every day.
3. Putting net zero transformation into practice: use design thinking and strategic canvases to translate complex sustainability challenges into workable service models and project blueprints.

Modules

In this training, we cover:

• Circular Design in practice: introduce design thinking at the source, and turn sustainability goals into concrete business plans and action blueprints.
• Circular Meetings: improve internal management, and create communication and decision-making processes that are both sustainable and effective.
• Circular Exhibitions: connect brand communication with spatial design, and create exhibition models that support the circular use of resources.

Course Objectives

1. Circular Thinking: learn how to move beyond the linear economy and develop a more systematic view of resource circulation.
2. Applying Design Thinking tools: work with tools such as the Circular Design Canvas and the Value Proposition Map, and make abstract ESG indicators tangible. Participants learn how to use circular design tools to develop new products and service models with sustainable value.
3. Practical implementation plan: participants take part in the full process from concept to prototype, and produce a circular improvement proposal that can realistically be taken forward.

Who is it for? Who is it NOT for?

This course is for:

1. R&D and product designers who need to introduce circular thinking at the source of product development, and rethink product life cycles and material integration.
2. Internal innovation and strategy teams responsible for developing new business models and turning sustainability issues into concrete projects and business structures.
3. Operations and administration executives who want to improve internal management processes and build circular meeting practices or more effective communication mechanisms.
4. Marketing and exhibition planners who want to connect brand communication with resource circulation and put circular exhibition design into practice.

This course is not for: Those who only need a basic introduction to sustainability concepts. This workshop is action-oriented and focused on producing practical blueprints. If the objective is simply to build initial awareness of ESG and global trends, [S2] SCT Future Cinema would be more suitable.

Professional and Organisational Impact

For individuals: participants build international-level capability in Circular Design, becoming practical contributors to ESG transformation inside their organisations.

For organisations: the workshop helps organisations develop circular design projects or activities that can be implemented, supporting the practical delivery of corporate ESG goals.

What are we going to do in class?

1. Exploring international circular strategies: through knowledge sharing and international case analysis, participants gain insight into the latest trends in Circular Design.
2. Circular Canvas Tools: participants use tools such as the Circular Design Canvas and the Value Proposition Map to apply circular design to products, activities, services, and business strategies.
3. Professional Facilitation: an experienced facilitator guides group work, using facilitation techniques to stimulate cross-departmental dialogue, keep discussions focused, and help the group reach shared understanding.
4. Design Thinking in practice: starting from empathy, participants map stakeholders, define transformation pain points with precision, and develop early prototypes.
5. Presentation and Feedback: each group presents its strategic canvas prototype. Senior executives or external experts provide feedback and identify the projects with the greatest potential for implementation.

Words from Your Guide

Irene Wu

Hello, I am Irene. In the process of helping more than 20 listed companies introduce ESG and sustainability strategies, I have discovered that the hardest part of transformation is not writing the report. It is helping employees truly feel why change matters, and then act across departments. If colleagues do not identify with the change, transformation remains only a slogan.

In the past, many organisations focused mainly on carbon reduction. I believe that Circular Design is one of the most critical steps in helping companies move towards real net-zero practice. This circular practice workshop helps organisations move from carbon reduction at the source to circularity in everyday meetings. This is not only about regulation. It is also one of the most powerful forces for change.

I designed this course to help you move beyond linear thinking, so that sustainability is no longer a slogan, but a cultural capability that people can feel, understand, and put into practice.