BRITISH COLUMBIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Two BCIT students are cultivating the circular and repair economy in Metro Vancouver

by Colin Chan

It's called the "right to repair," a growing movement in North America and Europe that calls on manufacturers to design products, particularly electronics, that can be easily fixed instead of thrown away. Along with Repair Cafes, the movement aims to extend product life, conserve resources, create jobs, and encourage a culture that values durable and repairable goods.

Students in the Sustainable Business Leadership (SBL) Certificate at BCIT are helping catalyze opportunities here in Metro Vancouver with a capstone project that partners with Vancity Credit Union and the non-profit One Earth.

As their Project Advisor, Rosemary Cooper, emphasizes that a shift towards a circular economy has transformative potential.  As a Senior Associate with the One Earth Initiative, Rosemary leads the Share Reuse Repair Initiative, which brings business, government and community actors together to create a culture and economy of sharing, reuse, and repair that supports circular innovation.

"Wouldn't it be even better if the system changed," says Rosemary, "so that products were made to be more durable or designed in a more modular way so that repair was easy and less costly?"

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