Following 15-years business sustainability consulting, Steven Young has been a professor in industrial ecology since 2010 at the School of Environment, Enterprise & Development (SEED) at University of Waterloo, Canada. 

Prof. Young supports the transition to a new low-carbon responsible “circular” economy. His research considers the management and sustainability of extractive resources, materials, goods and services using evidence-based methods like product life-cycle assessment (LCA) and sustainability management approaches including sustainability standards and certification. He teaches courses on environmental managment, sustainability auditing and industrial ecology.

Prof. Young contributes to industry and public efforts on sustainable devlopment. He is member of the independent review committee of the Responsible Minerals Initiative and a voting member of ResponsibleSteel. He has materials engineering degrees from University of Alberta and University of Toronto, and is published in management, resource policy and sustainability science journals.