The Circular Economy

Transforming Our Sector

The building and construction industry is the world’s largest consumer of raw virgin materials while also being the largest producer of solid waste. Little thought is given to how building materials might be efficiently recovered and reused. Economic pressures mean that low quality and chemically modified composite materials dominate modern construction methods. Urgent change is needed to reduce the impact of construction on the environment and ensure our buildings are designed for the future.

The Circular Economy (circularity) is a collection of design and specification criteria that aim to improve the ability of a product’s (or building’s) constituent parts to be recovered and reused. The ultimate ambition of circularity is to eliminate waste by creating an economy that is ‘circular’. In this economy, products (such as buildings) must be designed to allow components to be recovered and reused without creating damaged, contaminated or waste materials.

Applying the circular economy to buildings is a crucial step in reducing waste and lessoning the negative impact of modern society on our planet. Buildings are the largest consumer of new raw materials, and are responsible for more than 35% of the world’s waste. In nations with a younger building stock and less sophisticated material recycling methods (such as New Zealand, Australia and the United States), construction waste can represent up to 50% of total annual waste volumes.

Circularity in buildings is best achieved through design and specification. The type of spaces created, the shape of those spaces, the materials selected and the type of structural and fixings systems adopted all significantly influence end-of-life deconstruction and reuse performance. Adherence to the guidance in this document will ensure spaces are designed in alignment with the aims of the Circular Economy.