Many Ontario colleges continue to educate students in the traditional mechanistic fashion of the linear economy. Graduates in search of a career are equipped to perpetuate the take-make-waste economic system that continues to dominate globally and negatively affect our environment and social systems. As knowledge generators and community influencers, higher education institutions can play a significant role in the transition of our current economic model to one that is circular. The future of how Ontario colleges manage its internal operations and design curricula is of paramount importance. However, there is little evidence in the literature to support the transformation process required of higher education to become a supporting structure needed for a circular economy.

Some industry innovators, academics and practitioners are collaborating and experimenting with circular economy. However, too little is happening in Ontario. A shift needs to happen within the Ontario college system. If not, higher education will continue with business-as-usual in developing graduates who do not have circular economy competencies and employers who are all too happy to take them. This paper will enable us to see where Ontario colleges are at today, what they need to be doing for a sustainable and regenerative tomorrow and how they can begin to develop a circular narrative within the college system to support a transition to a circular economy.