Steven B. Young, PhD, PEng

Steven B. Young is a Professor of industrial ecology in the School of Environment, Enterprise & Development in the Faculty of Environment at University of Waterloo in Canada. Following 15-years of consulting in the private sector, Professor Young teaches at the University of Waterloo on environmental management, corporate responsibility, climate change, sustainable resources and business sustainability. His research considers raw materials sustainability and responsible production, focusing on abiotic resources including critical minerals and metals. He is a member of the Waterloo Industrial Ecology Group and is the principal investigator on the Lumet Project, http://www.lumet.ca, which aims to illuminate the sustainability of raw material supply chains. Professor Young is a professional engineer with degrees from University of Alberta and University of Toronto. He participates in industry and civil activities on responsible sourcing and sustainability standards, and publishes in scholarly, industry and popular outlets.

• corporate social responsibility

• life-cycle assessment (LCA)

• responsible sourcing

• sustainability standards

• management systems

• auditing, assurance and certification

• sustainable materials

• critical raw materials

For the coming decades, it will be necessary to produce significantly more primary minerals and materials like copper, steel, graphite and tantalum that are critical for the transition to a low-carbon and digital society. At the same time, a more circular economy of materials can be developed to help meet the needs of people today and for future generations. Professor Young's main effort is http://www.lumet.ca, which addresses sustainability standards, life cycle assessment and traceability of critical minerals for Canada. Nickel, zinc and germanium are being examined. The Lumet project collaborates with the UK project MINERS, lead by colleagues at University College London, https://www.ukri.org/news/uk-canada-to-improve-critical-minerals-mining-and-supply-chains/.

Additional research projects with students include topics on healthcare sustainability, LCA of helium as critical resource, and a sustainability metric for orbital space, called the Space Footprint.

Professor Young supports a variety of industry efforts towards sustainable development. Efforts include research on life cycle assessment, critical materials, responsible sourcing and greenhouse gas accounting. Projects have included standards development with the Canadian Standards Association and the International Organisation for Standardisation; membership on the independant review committee of the Responsible Minerals Initiative; carbon accounting for Environment and Climate Change Canada; environmental product declarations of construction and building materials; and sustainability analyses of hospitals, diagnostic equipment and healthcare services.

LInked to the http://www.lumet.ca effort is work on LCA of battery materials with the National Research Council of Canada, under their Critical Battery Materials Initiative, https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/research-collaboration/programs/critical-battery-materials-initiative.

• 1996, Ph.D., Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Toronto

• 1989, M.A.Sc., Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Toronto

• 1987, B.A.Sc., Metallurgical Engineering (Coop), University of Alberta

• Professional Engineers Ontario (since 1999)

• International Society of Industrial Ecology (since 2007)

• Visiting Scholar, University of Bordeaux, CyVi Group, Institute of Molecular Sciences (Sep-Nov 2024).

• Visiting Professor, University of the Sunshine Coast, School of Science, Engineering and Technology (Feb-Mar 2025).

• ENBUS 202 - Environmental Management Systems
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025
• ENBUS 308 - Sustainability Management Standards and Auditing
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025
• ENBUS 406 - Industrial Ecology: Sustainable Materials
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025
• ENBUS 475 - Special Topics in Environment and Business
  • Taught in 2021
• ENBUS 652 - Business and Climate Change
  • Taught in 2025
• GEMCC 650 - Business and Climate Change
  • Taught in 2025
• SUSM 674 - Special Topics in Sustainability Management
  • Taught in 2021

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

• Lai, F., Muller, S., Philippe, A., Istrate, R., Xicotencatl, B. M., Aski, A. M., Fons, A. M., Segura-Salazar, J., Saldivar, J. S., Cimprich, A., Northey, S., … Koyamparambath, A., Young, S.B., Beylot, A. (2026). Life cycle inventories of global metal and mineral supply chains: A comprehensive data review, analysis and processing. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 226, 108709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108709

• Cimprich, A., Parker, G., Miller, F. A., & Young, S. B. (2025). Leveraging stringency and lifecycle thinking to advance environmental sustainability in health technology regulation. Health Affairs Scholar, 3(2), qxaf017. https://doi.org/10.1093/haschl/qxaf017

• Koyamparambath, A., Sonnemann, G., & Young, S. B. (2025). Quantifying conflict risks in raw material supply using the INFORM risk index. Resources Policy, 105, 105605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105605

• Singh, G., Newland, F., Young, S. B., & Braun, V. (2025). Formulating the Space Footprint: A Model for Quantifying Space Sustainability. Proc. 9th European Conference on Space Debris, 2025, 2030.

• Cimprich, A., & Young, S. B. (2023). Environmental footprinting of hospitals: Organizational life cycle assessment of a Canadian hospital. Journal of Industrial Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13425