Circular Agents: Laboratory for the circular economy

Explore and learn about the principles and dynamics of the circular economy to make Generation Z active protagonists of the ecological transition of their territory.         
This is the purpose that Circular Agents wants to achieve, the project conceived by the Circular Economy Lab, an innovation initiative of Cariplo Factory and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, created by WeSchool with the support of Intesa Sanpaolo and Fondazione Cariplo.

With Circular Agents, young students step into the role of circularity investigators to discover actions and behaviors that favor the circular and sustainable transition.
Circular Agents is the free Civic Education course for lower secondary schools, teachers and young students will immerse themselves in a participatory research project.They will learn to collect, analyze data and present information by training logical thinking and deductive-scientific skills and with the aim of mapping habits and knowledge regarding circularity, and becoming agents of change in their territory.
The pilot edition of Circular Agents is dedicated to lower secondary schools in Lombardy, find out how to register your class here.

The innovative educational path includes theoretical-practical educational activities that involve students in their daily school and family life. It has a digital space capable of creating a union between sociality and creativity that enhances interaction and creates an educational continuum between physical space and virtual space.                             
In this digital space, teachers find formats, resources and teaching materials to train on the teaching methodologies on which classroom lessons are based.
To prepare lessons, teachers are supported by tutors and by discussion in a community dedicated to them. In turn, students use the digital space to participate in lessons and laboratory activities designed to deepen and experiment with the contents. The educational path is interdisciplinary and transversal and can be easily integrated with Civic Education programs.

Circular Agents is developed in 3 preparatory modules which offer videos, factsheets, readings and other in-depth materials that allow teachers to guide students in discovering circularity. Each module is an open laboratory where any curiosity can be a source of reflection, research and experimentation. It involves the carrying out of laboratory and cooperative teaching activities relating to the topics addressed and ends with the preparation of a paper.

The investigation phase takes place first with the development, by the students, of a questionnaire aimed at measuring knowledge of the field of Circular Economy, and subsequently with the administration of the same questionnaire to classmates, relatives and friends. The data thus collected will be aggregated and analyzed in order to draw up a report that will outline the level of awareness on sustainability in the territories involved.

An economy is circular if it keeps materials, products and services in circulation for as long as possible.
The economy is circular if it reduces the use of materials, redesigns materials, products and services to be less resource-intensive, and uses waste as a resource for the production of new materials and products.                                                                   
Intesa Sanpaolo has been committed to indicating to the community the opportunities offered by the circular economy, and for this reason, it supports associations that contribute to spreading the culture of sustainability and transparency and participates in initiatives that allow the community to experiment as part enabler of new business models.

Intesa Sanpaolo is a Strategic Partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, one of the main international promoters of the systemic transition towards the Circular Economy. Ellen MacArthur Foundation defines the circular economy as a system in which materials never become waste and nature regenerates itself. In a circular economy, products and materials are kept in circulation through processes such as maintenance, reuse, refurbishing, remanufacturing, recycling and composting. The circular economy addresses climate change and other global challenges, such as biodiversity loss, waste and pollution, by decoupling economic activity from the consumption of limited resources.

The circular economy is based on three principles, driven by design:

• - eliminate waste and pollution
• - circulate products and materials (at their maximum value)
• - regenerate nature.