Komal Habib, PhD

Komal Habib is an Associate Professor of industrial ecology in the School of Environment, Enterprise & Development (SEED) in the Faculty of Environment at University of Waterloo in Canada. Her interdisciplinary research examines the complex interactions between technology, natural resources, environmental impacts, and societal needs, with a particular focus on the critical materials required for clean energy technologies, electric mobility, and emerging energy systems. Through innovative research that bridges engineering, environmental science, resource management, and policy, Prof. Habib works to understand how resources can be used more efficiently and responsibly across their life cycles. Her work contributes to advancing circularity, resource criticality assessment, sustainable supply chains, and evidence-based strategies for a resilient low-carbon future. Prof. Habib is committed to advancing interdisciplinary research, fostering the development of emerging scholars, and translating rigorous scientific evidence into innovative and actionable approaches for sustainable resource management and a resilient, low-carbon future.

Prof. Habib’s research is focused on understanding the pathways toward a sustainable future through the lens of industrial ecology. Central questions addressed in her work include how a sustainable society can be envisioned and what is required to achieve a low-carbon, resource-efficient, and socially just society. These questions are explored through an assessment of the material and energy demands associated with a future low-carbon society and the resulting environmental, economic, and social sustainability implications. Research is conducted using methods including material flow analysis, life cycle assessment, and techno-economic feasibility analysis. Particular emphasis is placed on mapping the stocks and flows of critical minerals, including rare earth elements, lithium, and cobalt, which are essential to the transition toward a low-carbon society. As an Associate Professor of Industrial Ecology at the University of Waterloo, her current research program encompasses several projects focused on critical mineral resources, resource efficiency, circularity, and the sustainability implications of emerging low-carbon technologies:

• Beyond Lithium – project funded by NSERC is aimed at exploring the demand and circularity potential of critical minerals for electromobility in Canada.

• Critical Minerals and Urban Mining – project funded by NSERC is aimed at estimating the size and quality of critical minerals’ urban mines in Canada.

• Weight of Cities – project aimed at understanding the stocks and flows of built environment in Global North and Global South.

• Waste and Resource Management – project aimed at assessing the environmental and techno-economic feasibility assessment of various waste management pathways along with different circularity strategies to optimize resource management.

Prof. Habib’s research supports industry in addressing the growing challenges associated with complex waste flows, recycling, and critical mineral supply through evidence-based approaches to resource recovery and circularity. Her work helps identify opportunities to recover valuable materials from end-of-life electronic products, improve recycling and resource-efficiency strategies, and assess the environmental and economic implications of emerging recovery technologies. By connecting material flow analysis, life-cycle assessment, and critical mineral research with industry needs, her research contributes to the development of more resilient, resource-efficient, and circular value chains while supporting informed decision-making for sustainable technology and resource management.

• 2015, PhD, Energy and Environmentally Efficient Technologies, University of Southern Denmark (SDU)

• 2011, MSc in Engineering, Urban, Energy and Environmental Planning, Aalborg University, Denmark

• 2025, Best Presenter Award, World Resources Forum, Geneva

• 2024, Best Performance Award – Research, faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo

• 2024, Research Leader Award, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN)

• International Society of Industrial Ecology

• Visiting Scholar, Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, Bio & Chemical Engineering, INSA Toulouse, France (Sep-Oct 2026).

• Visiting Humboldt Fellow, University of Bayreuth, Germany (May 2026).

• Visiting Scholar, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Science and Technology (EMPA), Switzerland (Jul-Aug 2025).

• ENBUS 204 - Principles of Industrial Ecology
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
• ENBUS 304 - Circular Economy
  • Taught in 2024, 2026
• ENBUS 315 - Fashion, Consumption, and Sustainability
  • Taught in 2025, 2026
• ENBUS 375 - Special Topics in Environment and Business
  • Taught in 2022
• ENBUS 620 - Business Operations and Sustainability
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
• ENBUS 652 - Business and Climate Change
  • Taught in 2022, 2023, 2024
• GEMCC 650 - Business and Climate Change
  • Taught in 2022, 2023, 2024
• SUSM 620 - Sustainable Operations
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Chehab, L*., Damgaard, A and Habib, K. 2026. Life cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management in the Region of Waterloo. Waste Management 222: 115627.

• Mohammadi, E* and Habib, K. 2026. How long do consumer electronics last in Canada. Journal of Cleaner Production 547: 147773.

• Ottoni, M*., Helbig, C and Habib, K. 2026. Aspiration versus capacity: The case of critical raw materials for electromobility in Canada. Resources Policy 119: 105962.

• Habib, K., Mohammadi, E* and Withanage, S.V*. 2023. A first comprehensive estimate of electronic waste in Canada. Journal of Hazardous Materials 448: 130865.

• Tutton, C. G*., Young, S. B and Habib, K. 2022. Pre-processing of e-waste in Canada: Case of a facility responding to changing material composition. Resources, Environment and Sustainability 9: 100069.

• Mollaei, A*., Ibrahim, N and Habib, K. 2021. Estimating the construction material stocks in two Canadian cities: A case study of Kitchener and Waterloo. Journal of Cleaner Production 280: 124501.

• Habib, K., Hansdottir, S.T* and Habib, H. 2020. Critical metals for electromobility: Global demand scenarios for passenger vehicles, 2015–2050. Resources, Conservation and Recycling: 104603.

• Habib, K. 2019. A product classification approach to optimize circularity of critical resources – the case of NdFeB magnets. Journal of Cleaner Production 230: 90-97.

• Habib, K., Schibye, P.K*., Vestbø, A.P., Dall, O.L and Wenzel, H. 2014. Material Flow Analysis of NdFeB magnets for Denmark: A comprehensive waste flow sampling and analysis approach. Environmental Science & Technology 48: 12229–12237.