Steven B. Young

Associate Professor, School of Environment, Enterprise & Development

Research interests: corporate social responsibility; life-cycle assessment; responsible sourcing; sustainability standards and management systems; auditing, assurance and certification; sustainable materials, conflict minerals and critical raw materials

Biography

Steven B. Young is an industrial ecologist and associate professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise & Development, University of Waterloo, Canada where he teaches in environment, business and sustainable development. His research interests include corporate social responsibility; life-cycle assessment; responsible sourcing; sustainability standards and management systems; auditing, assurance and certification; sustainable materials, conflict minerals and critical raw materials. Professor Young is a professional engineer with degrees from the University of Alberta and the University of Toronto. He participates in industry and civil activities on responsible sourcing, and publishes in scholarly, industry and popular outlets.

Education

PhD - Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Toronto, 1996
MASc - Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Toronto, 1989
BASc - Metallurgical Engineering (Coop), University of Alberta, 1987

Steven B. Young

Research

Professor Young's research is on management approaches necessary to build a circular economy that conserves raw materials while meeting the needs of people today and of future generations. One focus is on making commodity materials like steel, aluminum and concrete more sustainable -- and ensuring responsible access to "critical" materials like tungsten and tantalum that are crucial for a low-carbon society.

Professor Young's approaches and methods draw on social science, business scholarship, and engineering methods:

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) -- including LCIA methodologies for assessing mineral resources
Sustainability standards and management systems -- ISO 14001, 26000, 45001, 50001 and private voluntary private standards on responsible sourcing
Auditing, assurance and certification -- including blockchain approaches to assurance

Subjects of current focus include:

Responsible sourcing -- with a focus on metals and minerals
Sustainable materials and material efficiency -- steel, aluminum, copper, etc.
Conflict minerals -- tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold
Critical raw materials -- see https://suscritmat.eu/ and https://eitrawmaterials.eu/project/irtc/
Circular economy -- with a focus on strategies for reuse, remanufacturing and recycling
Healthcare sustainability -- a new and exciting area for industrial ecology