Circular Economy Implementation For Sustainability In The Built Environment

The construction sector plays an essential role in the global economy, using many exhaustible natural resources, most of which are renewable in low percentages. Moving towards a circular economy is essential because optimizing the consumption of materials and energy contributes to the development of an economic system that is independent, more competitive, and more resilient in the face of economic and social crises and various environmental factors. The current “take, make, and dispose” model of the economy is unsustainable, so a shift in thinking towards a circular economy is necessary. This circular economy is an economic model that minimizes the use of natural resources by selecting them intelligently and minimizing the use of raw materials, favoring the use of recyclable materials wherever possible while managing the resources used and maintaining and reusing them in the economic system for as long as possible. Circular Economy Implementation for Sustainability in the Built Environment emphasizes the need to implement a circular economy model in the built environment and how to create a system that optimizes the use of resources and construction materials while preserving their properties and values. Covering topics such as automobile industries, lean manufacturing, and operation strategy, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for engineers, construction managers, business leaders, urban planners, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

This open access book explores the strategic importance and advantages of adopting multidisciplinary and multiscalar approaches of inquiry and intervention with respect to the built environment, based on principles of sustainability and circular economy strategies. A series of key challenges are considered in depth from a multidisciplinary perspective, spanning engineering, architecture, and regional and urban economics. These challenges include strategies to relaunch socioeconomic development through regenerative processes, the regeneration of urban spaces from the perspective of resilience, the development and deployment of innovative products and processes in the construction sector in order to comply more fully with the principles of sustainability and circularity, and the development of multiscale approaches to enhance the performance of both the existing building stock and new buildings. The book offers a rich selection of conceptual, empirical, methodological, technical, and case study/project-based research. It will be of value for all who have an interest in regeneration of the built environment from a circular economy perspective.

This book follows on previous works addressing sustainable development research in the Asia-Pacific region. It mainly focuses on India, a country currently facing immense challenges in the form of climate change, rapid urbanisation, and population pressures in its journey to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Expecting to surpass China in terms of population in the near future, India needs to develop its own solutions in order to uphold its commitments under the Paris Agreement. This book makes a contribution in that direction by presenting case studies on various aspects of the built environment, from education to managing cities, procurement, and considerations for a circular economy. The papers gathered here offer a vital resource for government policymakers, educators, and current and future professionals, equipping them with the knowledge and expertise they need in order to overcome today’s complex challenges in the built environment.

This open access book summarizes the research being pursued as part of the COST Action CA21103 titled "Implementation of Circular Economy in the Built Environment" (Circular B), which aims to define the methodology to develop a common circularity framework for inclusive application and assessment in new and existing buildings to support decision-making for all value chain stakeholders and appraise the implementation level of the European Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP). The Action is increasingly gaining interest worldwide, bringing multidisciplinary young and experienced researchers together to share the latest studies and develop new knowledge. Consisting of 17 chapters corresponding to the conference themes, the book analyses and discusses topics such as Circular Economy (CE) best practices, design strategies for circular buildings, circular materials and products, adaptive reuse of existing buildings, recovery and reuse of salvaged materials and products, case studies of current applications and trends, barriers against CE implementation in buildings, efficient waste and circular resource management, circular lifecycle management and decision making, stakeholders relationships, CE supporting policies and barriers, circular business models, criteria, KPIs and assessment models for circular buildings, CE criteria in sustainability frameworks, digitalization and BIM for enhanced circularity of buildings and building materials, and standardization of CE definitions in buildings.

This book is a call to arms to all architects, designers and built environment professionals. To avoid a climate catastrophe and achieve a regenerative built environment, the use of new materials and any excess waste in resources need to be cut out from the very beginning of the design process. This requires far-reaching change in established industry processes. How might this begin? What are the key fundamentals you need to know? How can a more effective model be applied? This book, a much-updated second edition of the author’s previous work Building Revolutions, answers all your questions. Inspiring, but never overwhelming, the Handbook to Building a Circular Economy is your must-have companion to helping create a more sustainable future. It explains in simple and practical terms how the principles of a circular economy can be applied to the built environment, thereby reducing the resources required to construct, fit-out, maintain and refurbish buildings. Case studies include: The Forge, UK, by Landsec The Bath School of Art, UK, by Grimshaw Urban Mining and Recycling Experimental Unit, Switzerland, by Werner Sobek NASA Sustainability Base, USA, by William McDonough + Partners University of East Anglia Enterprise Centre, UK, by Architype Park 20|20, The Netherlands, by William McDonough + Partners.

This open access book offers a comprehensive exploration of the digital innovations that have emerged in recent years for the circular built environment. Each chapter is meticulously crafted to ensure that both academic readers and industry practitioners can grasp the inner workings of each digital technology, understand its relevance to the circular built environment, examine real-life implementations, and appreciate the intriguing business models behind them. Our primary objective is to blend scholarly knowledge with practical inspiration by providing real-life case studies for each innovation. The authors, who possess extensive expertise in their respective fields, have contributed chapters dedicated to digital technologies within their areas of specialization. The book is organized into three distinct parts. The first part focuses on data-driven digital technologies and delves into how their capabilities can facilitate the transition to a circular built environment. Essential aspects such as building information modeling (BIM), digital twins, geographical information systems (GIS), scanning technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), data templates, and material passports are explored as vital tools for data collection, integration, and analysis in the context of circular construction. In the second part, various digital technologies for design and fabrication are introduced. Topics covered include computational design algorithms, additive and subtractive manufacturing, robotic manufacturing, and extended reality. These discussions shed light on how these technologies can be leveraged to enhance design and fabrication processes within the circular built environment. Finally, the last part of the book presents emerging digital concepts related to business and governance. It explores the role of deconstruction and reverse logistics, blockchain technology, digital building logbooks, and innovative business models as enablers of circularity in the built environment. The book concludes with a chapter dedicated to digital transformation and its potential to propel the built environment towards a regenerative future. In addition to the substantive content, the book features forewords and perspectives from esteemed experts, providing valuable economic and creative insights to complement its comprehensive approach.

Circular Economy in the Construction Industry is an invaluable resource for researchers, policymakers, implementers and PhD and Masters-level students in universities analyzing the present status of Construction and Demolition Wastes (C&DW) management, materials development utilizing slag, fly ash, HDPE fibre, geo-wastes, and other wastes, green concrete, soil stabilization, resource circulation in construction sectors, success in experimentation & commercial production, future needs, and future research areas. While huge C&DW is wasted by dumping, there is potential of recycling preventing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and environmental pollution as well as creating business opportunities. Circularity of resources in the construction industry can contribute to a more secure, sustainable, and economically sound future through proper policy instruments, management systems, and recycling by selecting the following: Supply chain sustainability and collection of C&D Wastes, Appropriate separation and recycling technology, Enforcement of policy instruments, Productivity, quality control of recycled products and intended end use, Economic feasibility as business case, commercialization, generating employment. This book addresses most of the above issues in a lucid manner by experts in the field from different countries, which are helpful for the related stakeholders, edited by experts in the field.