Applied Sustainability Engineering, the second course in the "Applied Sustainability for Technical Managers" specialization discusses the techniques used by engineers and scientists to develop and assess the environmental impact of products and processes required to make those products. It begins with a discussion of different renewable energy technologies and their economics – highlighting how continued reductions in cost have made wind and solar power the least expensive way to generate electricity. It then addresses carbon footprints and how they are determined, applying a practical example where you determine your residential and transportation carbon footprints. From there, the course transitions to defining sustainable and circular products and packaging and showcasing several examples. As Technical Managers, you’ll need metrics for determining whether a product is truly sustainable, so the course introduces techniques such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Streamlined LCA (S-LCA), and the Eco-Audit methodologies. The course concludes with an overview of sustainable product design frameworks, including Cradle-to-Cradle, Design for the Circular Economy, and Biomimicry, just to name a few.
This course is very practical, introducing you to several areas critical to managing and learning about sustainability initiatives, from assessing the environmental and social impacts of a product or process, to designing more sustainable and circular products. If you want to work towards having a positive impact on the planet and on society, then this course is for you!
This course was developed in collaboration with Siemens Digital Industries Software and is part of the "Design for the Circular Economy" collection. Learners who complete and pass the course can receive an industry-recognized digital badge.
The “Design for the Circular Economy” microcredential and graduate certificate are developed around the educational goals of providing technical, business, and leadership knowledge and skills that inspire the transformation towards a more circular economy. This includes gaining technical knowledge to apply circular economy principles in product design, minimizing waste and maximizing impact; developing business acumen to implement innovative circular economic models that prioritize sustainability and resilience; and acquiring leadership strategies to communicate effectively and inspire change within an organization.
This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Engineering in Engineering Management (ME-EM) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The ME-EM is designed to help engineers, scientists, and technical professionals move into leadership and management roles in the engineering and technical sectors. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the ME-EM is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience. Learn more about the ME-EM program at https://www.coursera.org/degrees/me-engineering-management-boulder.
Status: Sustainable Systems
Sustainable Systems
Status: Waste Minimization
Waste Minimization
Intermediate·Course·20 hours
Featured reviews
5.0
·Reviewed Mar 2, 2026
Always a pleasure learning with Dr. Readey. I especially appreciate the pdf resources he provides in all his courses.
5.0
·Reviewed Sep 15, 2024
The course is very nice. More recent technology, sustainability measures and water conservation methods can be added.
5.0
·Reviewed Jul 1, 2024
The course is informative, well-organized, and applicable.
4.0
·Reviewed Feb 17, 2025
The material and istructor is good but the display monitor not Clear needed more justification.
5.0
·Reviewed Jun 16, 2025
I really enjoyed this course! Professor Michael Readey structured the course with a logical flow that made it interesting and engaging. I'll be signing up for more courses from him soon!
5.0
·Reviewed Oct 8, 2024
Good content, well organized, very helpful for anybody that needs to start working in Sustainablity and does not know where to start!
5.0
·Reviewed Jun 18, 2024
A lot of practical examples and everything explained very understandable!
5.0
·Reviewed Sep 23, 2024
Professor Michael Readey is a talented educator and the coursework he prepared was thoughtful and engaging.
5.0
·Reviewed Oct 28, 2024
This course is so relevant and provides answers to our sustainability problems in the world today. It's a must and urgent for all engineers, designers and leaders in technical fields.
4.0
·Reviewed Nov 13, 2025
Great course to learn an overview of Sustainability
All reviews
Showing: 20 of 28
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Most Helpful
S
Sujatha
5.0
·Reviewed Oct 8, 2024
Applied Sustainability Engineering is an exceptionally informative and engaging course offered by Dr.Michael Readey, at the University of Colorado Boulder. I liked the way he teaches with lots of passion & energy. The contents are thought provoking to strive us towards the ambitious goal of achieving net zero emission and ultimately to leave this planet a better place for our future generation. This course has stimulating assignments with grades to deepen our knowledge to expertise in this field. I would highly recommend this course to anyone to specialize in renewables & sustainable solutions. It would be beneficial for Senior Executives who are leading transformative initiatives to reduce carbon emissions across their organizations!
S
Sunniva
1.0
·Reviewed Mar 30, 2025
The course is broken, the peer assessments are not graded yet back from 6 months ago so I cannot complete the course and it focuses on stupid primary school plastic collection examples instead of even mentioning the carbon footprint from food.
D
D
5.0
·Reviewed Jun 4, 2025
Excellent follow-up course to the first course in Sustainability and Circular Economy. While the first course covers a lot of important practical basics, this course really made the important concepts personalized and hands-on and made the learning even more impactful. It also filled in a lot of gaps in my prior knowledge in practice of field and I would highly recommend both of the mentioned courses to practitioners who are looking for good frameworks and high level ideas to guide their practice and continued learning.
R
Rahul
5.0
·Reviewed Mar 22, 2025
This course is ideal for engineers, sustainability professionals, and project managers looking to integrate green solutions into their work.
✔ Enhances expertise in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategies.
✔ Expands opportunities in sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, and green manufacturing.
✔ Strengthens regulatory compliance and environmental impact assessment skills.
B
Brittany
5.0
·Reviewed Jun 17, 2025
I really enjoyed this course! Professor Michael Readey structured the course with a logical flow that made it interesting and engaging. I'll be signing up for more courses from him soon!
O
Ogano
5.0
·Reviewed Oct 29, 2024
This course is so relevant and provides answers to our sustainability problems in the world today. It's a must and urgent for all engineers, designers and leaders in technical fields.
F
Federico
5.0
·Reviewed Oct 8, 2024
Good content, well organized, very helpful for anybody that needs to start working in Sustainablity and does not know where to start!
C
Chris
5.0
·Reviewed Mar 3, 2026
Always a pleasure learning with Dr. Readey. I especially appreciate the pdf resources he provides in all his courses.
K
Krushna
5.0
·Reviewed Sep 16, 2024
The course is very nice. More recent technology, sustainability measures and water conservation methods can be added.
B
Bouari
5.0
·Reviewed Mar 3, 2025
Excellent cours pour apprendre les notions d'empreinte carbone, d'analyse de cycle de vie, cradle to craddle, etc...
A
AF
5.0
·Reviewed Sep 24, 2024
Professor Michael Readey is a talented educator and the coursework he prepared was thoughtful and engaging.
L
Lina
5.0
·Reviewed Jun 19, 2024
A lot of practical examples and everything explained very understandable!
K
Kareem
5.0
·Reviewed Jul 2, 2024
The course is informative, well-organized, and applicable.
P
PATEL
5.0
·Reviewed Aug 31, 2025
it is very simple for all studet
B
Brijesh
5.0
·Reviewed Oct 18, 2024
Nice Learning
M
Muhammad
5.0
·Reviewed Jan 12, 2025
Very Helpful
J
Johan
5.0
·Reviewed Nov 13, 2025
muy bueno
K
KAMLESHKUMAR
5.0
·Reviewed Aug 30, 2025
amazing
K
KADIYA
5.0
·Reviewed Sep 4, 2025
GOOD
M
mohamed
4.0
·Reviewed Feb 18, 2025
The material and istructor is good but the display monitor not Clear needed more justification.
