Integrating the circular economy into engineering programs in India: A study of students’ familiarity with the concept

Abstract

Human production and consumption activities are depleting the earth’s resources faster than they are being replenished. The Global Footprint network estimates “Earth Overshoot Day 2020” (the day the use of natural resources during the year crosses the regeneration capacity for the year) to be 22 August. A shift from linear to circular economy (CE) practices offers an alternative approach that favors environmental conservation, integrating economic growth with environmental protection. While it is important to educate engineering students about sustainable models, environmental education is mandatory in India and a 6-month module introduces various concepts in all university programs. This article examines the extent of familiarity of Indian engineering students with the concept of a circular economy. A two-phase methodology was used, with 148 students of a National Institute of Technology participating in the study. In Phase 1, which focused on the students’ awareness of the CE, it was found that only a third were familiar with the concept. In Phase 2 the students, after having had the concept explained to them, identified possible barriers to incorporating it into the syllabus. The implications of integrating the concept with the syllabus are discussed.

Keywords

Circular economy engineering syllabus India sustainability

Current production processes extract more resources than the earth can regenerate. The Global Footprint Network (2020) estimates “Earth Overshoot Day 2020” to be 22 August. Earth Overshoot Day is calculated every year to mark the date on which the use of natural resources in the year crosses the regeneration capacity for that year. Each year this date is occurring earlier, indicating that our economic processes are depleting our natural resources faster than they are being regenerated. The situation was sustainable in 1970, when the extraction during the year was equivalent to the regenerative capacity of the earth. As of 30 September 2020, we would need 1.768 earths to meet our requirements (The World Counts, 2020). The “number of earths” required to meet human requirements has been steadily increasing since 1970 and it is estimated that we would require 3 earths to meet our requirements by 2050 (Pandey, 2019). It is worth noting that Earth Overshoot Day in 2019 was 29 July, as against 22 August in 2020 (Global Footprint Network, 2020), indicating that the slowdown of the economy in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic may have reduced the resource requirement.

All this suggests that current business operations, built on “linear” economic models, in which products are discarded after use, are mining more resources than the earth can regenerate (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2016). A “circular” economic model is recommended as a viable alternative to counter this trend (Singh and Ordoñez, 2016).

A circular economy (CE) aims at “increasing recycling, increasing the share of secondary resources, reducing waste streams, boosting economic growth, boosting employment and avoiding environmental impacts,” in the words of the Secretary General of the OECD (Gurría, 2018: 20). While the need for a transition to a CE is gaining in urgency, studies have found that the adoption of the CE model has been low (Khan et al., 2020; Panigrahi et al., 2019).

India could be well suited to the introduction of a CE, as circularity principles are inbuilt in the habits of Indians (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2016) and also because environmental education is mandatory in India, both at school and university (UNESCO, 2016). This paper focuses on an examination of the familiarity of Indian engineering students with the CE concept as a precursor to its integration into the engineering curriculum.

The next section presents literature that highlights the need to introduce the CE into the engineering program syllabus. This is followed by an outline of the status of engineering and environmental education in India. The methodology for and the findings of the study are then presented. Finally, the discussion section details considerations for the integration of the CE concept into the engineering program syllabus.

Literature review

As noted, the current economic models built on linear economic systems use more resources than the earth can regenerate (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2016). Sariatli (2017: 32) encapsulates linear economic models as “take, make and dispose.” The Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI) states that linear economic production systems consume about 21 billion tons of material which do not form part of the final product (Sariatli, 2017).

Capital markets focus on short-term results (Roe, 2015). Therefore, current economic models concentrate on consumption and thereby encourage linear approaches that are not sustainable (Reeves-Ellington, 1998). Jowit (2010) also notes that the focus on short-term profit and market share has contributed to environmental degradation. There is, therefore, a need for current business models to adopt the CE concept, which “envisages the global economy as regenerative and restorative by intention and design” (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013: 7).

A CE blends economic growth and environmental protection (Stahel, 2016) by incorporating the principles of “cascading, renewability, longevity, reuse, upgrade, repair, capacity sharing, dematerialization and refurbishment” (Lacy et al., 2014: 4) to improve the productivity of resources and augment profitability (Hopkinson et al., 2018).

Agyemang et al. (2019) identified lack of awareness, financial constraints and insufficient expertise as the major constraints to the adoption of a CE in Pakistan’s automobile industry. Mont et al. (2017) identified lower costs for linear production systems and an absence of viable technologies for a CE as the barriers to this paradigm shift. Govindan and Hasanagic (2018) also identified technology as one of the barriers to CE implementation. Ritzen S and Sandström (2017: 9, Table 1) summarize the technological barriers identified in the literature as “product design and integration into production processes.” Van Eijk (2015) also finds that innovation processes are not integrated with the CE concept. Khalamayzer (2017) concludes that the transition to a CE would have to be gradual, as it would require technological development.

Simone et al. (2019: 1044) suggest that technological development for a CE should focus on “waste as a resource; industrial symbiosis; increasing the utilization rate of products by increasing the number of users; gaining more benefits from the same volume of goods by eliminating downtime and converting the product to a service.” The Director General of the National Productivity Council India, in his theme paper for 2019, emphasized that a CE should be built by engaging businesses and education (Director General, 2019). Integrating the CE concept into engineering education programs could offer a way forward.

Engineering education in India

Engineering is the fourth most sought-after university course in India. About 3.85 million students enroll for different streams of engineering with over 1 million graduating each year (Nigam, 2020). However, Gupta (2019) and Rehman (2019) argue that the quality of engineering education does not contribute to solving real-life problems. Rehman (2019) also argues that engineering colleges produce students with irrelevant or outdated skills.

The All India Council for Technical Education, the governing body for technical education in India, suggested a review of the syllabus to cater to future skill requirements (AICTE, 2017). Gupta et al. (2019) advocate that students should be made aware of socio-economic issues. Rao (2019), on the other hand, states that topics relating to sustainability are not reflected in teaching, even though environmental education is mandatory in India.

Environmental education in India

With the Supreme Court of India’s directive in 2003, environmental education was introduced at the school as well as in all university programs (Sonowal, 2009). While the National Curriculum Framework, 2005 framed the guidelines for environmental education in schools, the Universities Grants Commission, which monitors the education system in India, has designed a 6-month compulsory four-credit course on environment for all university programs in the country (Ghosh and Dutta, 2019).

The National Curriculum Framework emphasized the need to sensitize schoolchildren to environmental issues (p. 25), to highlight environmental issues in every subject (p. 8) and to ensure that students understand the concepts rather than just learn them to pass exams (p. 16) (NCERT, 2005). School texts have been rewritten to include environmental concepts (Verma and Dhull, 2017). The University Grants Commission, on the other hand, designed a 50-lecture course with seven units, inclusive of a field project, to be offered in the second semester of the first academic year for all university programs in India (Ghosh and Dutta, 2019; see also Sonowal, 2009). The CPR Environmental Education Center (CPREEC, 2018) however, argues that, even after 15 years since its initiation, environmental education is still at a nascent stage in India. It is in this broader context that this study focuses on familiarity with the CE concept among engineering students in India as a first step toward integrating it into the syllabus.

Methodology

Studying education for sustainable development in information and communication technology (ICT) programs, Hilty and Huber (2018) consider that the sustainability concept, which is still emerging, is not yet ready for hypothesis testing.

The methodology therefore included several informal interviews to design an interview schedule. Based on these exploratory discussions, a two-phase interview study was designed: Phase 1 examined the level of awareness about the CE concept and Phase 2 reintroduced the CE concept (this was felt necessary in light of the initial individual interviews) and then collected information about the negative and positive aspects of incorporating CE as a part of the syllabus.

To conduct the study, the graduate program at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Jamshedpur, India was selected. NITs are national institutes for which admission is through a national-level test. These students would therefore be representative of the collective body of the engineering students of India. Students of all branches of engineering except Computer Science and Information Technology were invited to participate in the survey, using Google Forms. Computer Science and Information Technology students were not included because e-waste and its recycling has received considerable media attention and this could lead to a bias in the study. The questionnaire was also administered to alumni who had recently passed out from the Institute. Overall, 115 students from the current batch of students and 33 alumni members responded to the questionnaire. The sample details are given in Tables 1 and 2.

Table 1.

Sample distribution by gender and batch.

Batch	Female	Male	Total
Recent alumni	12	21	33
Final year	21	35	56
Third year	10	15	25
Second year	7	9	16
First year	11	7	18
Total	61	87	148

Table 2.

Sample distribution by gender and stream of engineering.

Stream	Female	Male	Total
Civil engineering	6	7	13
Electrical engineering	7	9	16
Mechanical engineering	9	16	25
Metallurgical engineering	25	32	57
Production and industrial engineering	10	17	27
Other streams	5	5	10
Total	61	87	148

Findings

Only 32.43% of the students were familiar with the CE concept, while 41.22% were not. The balance of 26.35% were not sure. There was no significant difference between gender (chi square = 1.27, p = 0.53; Table 3), batches (chi square = 9.73, p = 0.28; Table 4) and streams (chi square = 8.28, p = 0.41; Table 5).

If the “familiar” and “not sure” responses were to be combined as one category and the “not familiar” responses taken as the other category (see Tables 3 to 5), the differences between streams was present at the 10% level (chi square = 8.19, p = 0.085), with metallurgical engineering students showing a higher familiarity with the CE concept than the other streams.

Table 3.

Familiarity with the CE concept by gender.

Gender	Yes	Maybe	No	Total
Female	19	19	23	61
Male	29	20	38	87
Total	48	39	61	148

Note: Chi square test of independence = 1.27, p = 0.53.

Table 4.

Familiarity with the CE concept by batch.

Batch	Yes	Maybe	No	Total
Recent alumni	12	7	14	33
Final year	19	12	25	56
Third year	5	11	9	25
Second year	4	3	9	16
First year	8	6	4	18
Total	48	39	61	148

Note: Chi square test of independence = 9.73, p = 0.28.

Table 5.

Familiarity with the CE concept by engineering stream.

Stream	Yes	Maybe	No	Total
Civil engineering	4	3	6	13
Electrical engineering	3	3	10	16
Mechanical engineering	7	6	12	25
Metallurgical engineering	23	18	16	57
Production and industrial engineering	8	6	13	27
Other streams	3	3	4	10
Grand total	48	39	61	148

Note: Chi square test of independence = 8.28, p = 0.41.

In Phase 2, after the students had been given a description of the concept, 37.7% of those who had previously said they were not familiar with it expressed their interest in exploring opportunities with regard to the CE. An alumnus who had recently left the university and who had initially said that he was not familiar with the concept, stated:

As an engineer from Coal India Limited, I would love to explore CE in the mines where I work: machines that are not working are kept for more than 10 years and then sold as junk to rag pickers.

The respondents who had had the concept explained to them were of the opinion that reducing waste (23%), cost saving (29%) and new business opportunities (21%) could be important drivers for introducing the CE. While 91.22% of the respondents felt that the CE concept should be included as part of the syllabus, 36% also thought that government regulations would help the transition to a CE.

The students felt that the CE would be useful for the automobile and iron and steel industries, and that the focus should be on the reuse of metals and the “extraction of the maximum work out of fuels.” 47.9% thought that the lack of relevant course material would be an impediment in the learning process. They suggested that the CE could be introduced (only) as an elective course or through workshops.

It is interesting to note that only one respondent (a first-year mechanical engineering student) thought that there was an urgent need to incorporate the CE concept into the curriculum. This could suggest that a miniscule percentage of students are really concerned about the environment, supporting studies that maintain that individuals tend to shift the responsibility to protect the environment to the government (Fishlinger Center, 2016).

Discussion

The study found that engineering students in India were not aware of the concept of CE even though environmental education is mandatory in India. This finding supports that of Chhokar (2010), who observed that students did not take the mandatory course seriously. Sonowal (2009) suggests that it may be more advisable to discuss specific problems than to introduce several issues. Here it should be noted that the prescribed textbook of environmental studies (Bharucha, 2004) has a large number of topics and ecosystem degradation is discussed in only one paragraph (pp. 55–56).

Hence, there is an immediate need to create awareness about the long-term environmental consequences of linear models and the importance of the transition to a CE. The syllabus could include sustainability concepts, such as the CE. The study indicated that metallurgy students had greater familiarity with the CE concept. While a more detailed investigation may be required, an examination of the metallurgy syllabus could provide initial guidelines for introducing the CE concept generally into the engineering syllabus.

In addition, reports on recycling could be used to motivate students to learn about the CE (Hilty and Huber, 2018) and engagement exercises like workshops and idea generation camps could be used to improve knowledge, attitudes and responses with regard to environmental issues (Alexandar, 2012). Also, as Chhokar (2010) suggested, students should understand the interrelationship between the different stakeholders and the environment. Kopnina (2017) suggests that the syllabus should include the perspectives of both the consumer and the producer. Finally, the program should go beyond imparting knowledge and should inculcate values in relation to sustainable development (Ravindranath, 2016).

Conclusions

The current economic models have been depleting the earth’s resources more rapidly than they are being replenished. A CE has been identified as a change which would help us to move toward sustainability. The transition to a CE would require educating engineering students about the technological requirements for sustainable development.

Environmental education, although mandatory in India, seems not have succeeded in increasing awareness about the CE in engineering students. It is recommended that, instead of covering too many topics in the compulsory environment course, the emphasis should be on topics with specific relevance to engineering programs, like the CE. Designers of the engineering syllabus could start by identifying those courses in which the CE concept could be effectively introduced. Workshops and idea generation camps (with prizes) could also be held to increase knowledge and help create interest in the CE concept. At the same time, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) could mandate that “transitioning to a CE” should be part of the learning goals for all engineering colleges. Finally, there is a need to train faculty on the new concepts and the associated pedagogy.

NIT, being a national institute, has students from across India. Since the syllabus is standardized across the country, the findings of this study may be applicable to all engineering colleges in India. Further studies are needed to formalize the CE concept in the engineering syllabus.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Pingali Venugopal

References

Agyemang

Kusi-Sarpong

Khan

, et al. (2019) Drivers and barriers to circular economy implementation: an explorative study in Pakistan’s automobile industry. Management Decision 57 (4): 971–994. DOI: 10.1108/MD-11-2018-1178.

AICTE (2017) Engineering education in India—short & medium term perspectives. Available at: https://www.aicte-india.org/sites/default/files/Short%20Term%20and%20Medium%20Term%20Report%20%281%29.pdf (accessed 20 July 2020).

Alexandar

(2012) Environmental education for sustainable development in selected schools of Puducherry and Cuddalore regions, India. Unpublished thesis, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry (Central) University, Pondicherry.

Bharucha

(2004) Textbook for Environmental Studies. Pune: Universities Grants Commission and Bharati Vidapeeth Institute of Environmental Education and Research.

Chhokar

(2010) Higher education and curriculum innovation for sustainable development in India. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 11(2): 141–152.

CPREEC (2018) Environmental Education. Chennai: CPR Environment Education Center.

Director General (2019) Circular economy for productivity and sustainability. Theme Paper for Productivity Week 2019, National Productivity Council, New Delhi.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2013) Towards the Circular Economy: Economic and Business Rationale for an Accelerated Transition. Cowes: Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Available at: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/towards-the-circular-economy-vol-1-an-economic-and-business-rationale-for-an-accelerated-transition (accessed 17 April 2019).

Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2016) Circular Economy in India: Rethinking Growth for Long-Term Prosperity. Cowes: Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Available at: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/circular-economy-in-india_5-dec_2016.pdf (accessed 23 July 2020).

10.

Fishlinger Center (2016) Responsibility for the environment: individuals or the Government? College of Mount St Vincent, New York. Available at: https://mountsaintvincent.edu/ (accessed 31 July 2020).

11.

Ghosh

Dutta

(2019) UGC mandates environmental studies at UG level. Times of India, 27 May. Available at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/69524882.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst (accessed 20 July 2020).

12.

Global Footprint Network (2020) Past Earth Overshoot Days. Available at: https://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/past-earth-overshoot-days/ (accessed 23 July 2020).

13.

Govindan

Hasanagic

(2018) A systematic review on drivers, barriers, and practices towards circular economy: a supply chain perspective. International Journal of Production Research 56(1–2): 278–311.

14.

Gupta

(2019) Education crisis: India juggling with engineering education issue, need to take concrete steps. BW Education, 8 June. Available at: http://bweducation.businessworld.in/article/Education-Crisis-India-Juggling-With-Engineering-Education-Issue-Need-To-Take-Concrete-Steps-/08-06-2019-171598/ (accessed 24 June 2020) .

15.

Gupta

Fuloria

Gupta

(2019) What’s the future of engineering education in India? The Hindustan Times, 17 April. Available at: https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/what-s-the-future-of-engineering-education-in-india/story-HdBoomFqrNNH0SA1bzQnUJ.html (accessed 22 June 2020).

16.

Gurría

(2018) Global Material Resources Outlook to 2060 Economic Drivers and Environmental Consequences. Paris: OECD.

17.

Hilty

Huber

(2018) Motivating students on ICT-related study programs to engage with the subject of sustainable development. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 19(3): 642–656.

18.

Hopkinson

Zils

Hawkins

, et al. (2018) Managing a complex global circular economy business model: opportunities and challenges. California Management Review 60(3): 71–94.

19.

Jowit

(2010) World’s top firms cause $2.2tn of environmental damage, report estimates. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/feb/18/worlds-top-firms-environmental-damage (accessed 1 June 2019).

20.

Khalamayzer

(2017) 5 challenges to scaling the circular economy. Available at: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/5-challenges-scaling-circular-economy (accessed 1 June 2019).

21.

Khan

Maqbool

Haleem

, et al. (2020) Analyzing critical success factors for a successful transition towards circular economy through DANP approach. Management of Environmental Quality 31(3): 505–529.

22.

Kopnina

(2017) Teaching circular economy: overcoming the challenge of green-washing. In: Dhiman

Marques

(eds) Handbook of Engaged Sustainability. Berlin: Springer International Publishing AG 2018, pp. 809–833.

23.

Lacy

Keeble

McNamara

, et al. (2014) Circular Advantage: Innovative Business Models and Technologies to Create Value in a World without Limits to Growth. Chicago, IL: Accenture.

24.

Mont

Plepys

Whalen

, et al. (2017) Business model innovation for a circular economy: drivers and barriers for the Swedish industry—the voice of REES companies. Available at: http://lup.lub.lu.se/search/ws/files/33914256/mistra_rees_drivers_and_barriers_lund.pdf (accessed 2 June 2019).

25.

NCERT (2005) The National Curriculum Framework. New Delhi: NCERT.

26.

Nigam

(2020) The rise and fall of the Indian engineering degree. The Indian Express, 15 January. Available at: https://indianexpress.com/article/education/how-the-indian-engineering-degree-lost-its-sheen-this-decade-6182675/ (accessed 23 July 2020).

27.

Pandey

(2019) Why we need a circular economy. Downtoearth, 27 June. Available at: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/economy/why-we-need-a-circular-economy-65122 (accessed 3 July 2020).

28.

Panigrahi

Bahinipati

Jain

(2019) Sustainable supply chain management. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal 30(5): 1001–1049.

29.

Rao

(2019) Engineering education needs serious rethinking. The Hindu, Business Line, 17 February. Available at: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/rajkamal-rao/engineering-education-needs-serious-rethinking/article26297580.ece (accessed 15 June 2020).

30.

Ravindranath

(2016) Environmental education in India—the shifting paradigm. In: Gorana

Kanaujia

(eds) Reorienting Educational Efforts for Sustainable Development. Schooling for Sustainable Development. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 89–109.

31.

Reeves-Ellington

(1998) Leadership for socially responsible organizations. Leadership & Organization Development Journal 19(2): 97–105.

32.

Rehman

MSK

(2019) Strengthen-out engineering education and its challenges. BW Education, 26 May. Available at: http://bweducation.businessworld.in/article/Strengthen-Out-Engineering-Education-And-Its-Challenges/25-05-2019-170983/ (accessed 15 June 2020).

33.

Ritzen

Sandström

(2017) Barriers to the circular economy—integration of perspectives and domains. Procedia CIRP 64: 7–12.

34.

Roe

(2015) Markets are too short term. Myth or reality? World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/are-financial-markets-too-focused-on-the-short-term/ (accessed 2 June 2019).

35.

Sariatli

(2017) Linear economy versus circular economy: a comparative and analyzer study for optimization of economy for sustainability. Visegrad Journal of Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development 6(1): 31–34

36.

Simone

Campos

Julkovski

, et al. (2019) Circular business models: level of maturity. Management Decision 57(4): 1043–1066

37.

Singh

Ordoñez

(2016) Resource recovery from post-consumer waste: important lessons for the upcoming circular economy. Journal of Cleaner Production 134: 342–353.

38.

Sonowal

(2009) Environmental education in schools: the Indian scenario. Journal of Human Ecology 28(1): 15–36.

39.

Stahel

(2016) Circular economy. Nature 531(7595): 435–438.

40.

The World Counts (2020) How to sustain a world population of 10 billion people? Available at: https://www.theworldcounts.com/ (accessed 30 September 2020).

41.

UNESCO (2016) Global Education Monitoring Report. Available at: https://gem-report-2016.unesco.org/en/chapter/planet-environmental-sustainability/ (accessed 20 July 2020).

42.

Van Eijk

(2015) Barriers & drivers towards a circular economy—literature review, Acceleratio. Available at: https://www.circulairondernemen.nl/uploads/e00e8643951aef8adde612123e824493.pdf (accessed 19 April 2019).

43.

Verma

Dhull

(2017) Environmental education as a subject in schools. International Journal of Advanced Research 5(8): 1547–1552. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332446321_environmental_education_as_a_subject_in_schools (accessed 30 July 2020).