Our Shared Understanding
This 2023 report published by the Circular Buildings Coalition (CBC) is a summary of core concepts that inform the transition to a circular economy.
Academic
Academic institutions have a key role to play in providing leadership and support for the built environment sector through educational provision and applied research. This section provides resources for educators who wish to upskill and embed circular economy principles across the curriculum.
- A-Z
- Date
Implementation of Circularity, Whole Life Carbon and Life Cycle Costing in Public Construction Projects
This 2023 handbook produced by the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) through their EPA funded Circular Life project provides a nice overview on how Level(s) and the Regenerate Tool can support circularity in construction.
The Circular Built Environment Playbook
The World Green Building Council (WGBC) have published a wonderful guidance document that explore the principles of the circular economy, the role of buildings and materials, design and retrofit opportunities, how to move towards regenerative design, levers for change, and a clear call to action. It also provides a suite of excellent case studies and
Towards a Circular Economy in the Built Environment
This 2023 report published by Metabolic, WGBC, Circle Economy, WBSCD, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, ARUP and supported by the Laudes Foundation examines strategies to overcome market, finance, and ownership challenges. This was a collaborative research effort by the Circular Buildings Coalition (CBC), which has been established to coordinate built environment stakeholders working towards this transition.
Circular Hotspot
Dr. John Scahill and Philippa King from the Build360 group will be participating in the Circularity in the Built Environment Deep Dive, 31 May 9.00-12.30, see https://www.dublincirculareconomyhotspot.com/event
Journal Paper Alert: ‘Developing Regenerate: A circular economy engagement tool for the assessment of new and existing buildings’
Excellent paper published by Charles Gillott, Will Mihkelson, Maud Lanau, Dave Cheshire, Danielle Densley Tingley, see link.
Multi-scale, circular economic potential of non-residential building stock
Really interesting project from the Urban Flows Observatory in the University of Sheffield, which aims to to develop a spatially multi-scale framework to assess CE potential in individual buildings, cities and countries. The framework, applied to non-residential construction in the UK, will enable estimation of CE potential in the existing stock. It will utilise bottom-up
TREASoURcE EU Project
TREASoURcE is a four-year project (2022-2026) receiving funding from the European Union under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. TREASoURcE aims to initiate systemic change by developing systemic circular economy solutions in cities and regions for currently underutilized or unused plastic waste, end-of-life electric vehicle batteries and bio-based waste and side streams. Implementing these
UKGBC Circular Economy Metrics for Buildings
A deep dive into best practice approaches for measuring circular economy principles in the built environment by the Circular Economy Forum, see link.
Circular Economy Taxonomy Study: Buildings do not meet EU requirements
An excellent study by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) examined the market-readiness of the circular economy criteria proposed in the EU Taxonomy. Several challenges were identified including: reuse of material content, use of recyclates, insufficient information flows, and a lack of circular construction methods, see link for full report.
The CBCI-project
The European-funded Circular Biobased Construction Industry (CBCI) project investigates how we can use raw materials in construction more efficiently, thereby reducing CO2 emissions. Not only in the construction phase, but throughout the entire life cycle of a building. For the transition to a circular economy, an integral approach to circular and biobased construction has been
The Circular Built Tool
The guide is organized into a practical questions that come up in every construction project: How do I get started? Which aspects of circular construction do I include in my project? How do I follow up on them? How can I evaluate my project after delivery? The ‘Circular Built’ tool is a guidance tool that