The Circular Canvas provides an open-access visual framework to help businesses design sustainable business models. In the classroom, this tool can be used for interactive group projects where students map a business (e.g., make them think about a bakery and how it works). They’ll get familiar with the importance of knowing material flows, track environmental impacts, and identify opportunities to eliminate waste. It can easily be adapted for middle schoolers (grades 6–8) as an introductory exercise in sustainable design.

The tool builds on the familiar Business Model Canvas format while explicitly requiring students to factor environmental and social impacts alongside financial viability. It pushes students beyond basic recycling concepts, teaching them to design business projects that are inherently regenerative from the ground up.

Go to The Circular Canvas

A circular economy is a systemic approach to economic development designed to benefit businesses, society, and the environment. In contrast to a ‘take-make-waste’ linear model, a circular economy is regenerative by design and aims to gradually decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources. View more resources in the Circular Economy PRO Picks collection >