One of the things I appreciate most about the EFI programme is how it encourages us to think across disciplines. I didn’t realise, until halfway through the term, how much of what I was learning in different modules connected with my project idea. Especially in the Circular Economy and Sustainable Systems classes, we talked about how linear consumption patterns (take-make-waste) can be replaced by regenerative cycles.

The idea of circular economy really struck me—especially the notion that “waste is a design flaw.” It made me think about how products we take for granted, like flowers, are designed for short-term use but produce long-term waste. I started reading more about Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and how it’s used to measure the environmental impact of products from production to disposal. This felt directly relevant to floriculture.

I also looked into the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s work and found their frameworks very accessible and useful. Their principles helped me see how my project could become not just an academic exercise but something that contributes to practical thinking around sustainability in everyday spaces. This integration of course theory into real-world issues is what makes the EFI programme so valuable.

Integrating Course Learning: How Circular Economy and LCA Concepts from EFI Shaped My Project / Xizhi Zhang / Circular Economy: KIPP and Futures Project by is licensed under a