Scholars have recently debated the potential of the circular economy (CE) as a crisis response strategy; however, concrete examples demonstrating its effectiveness in such applications remain limited. This study addresses this gap by investigating how CE principles—narrowing, slowing, closing, and regenerating resource loops— can be integrated into post-disaster reconstruction and recovery, with a focus on the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes in Türkiye. Using an exploratory qualitative research design, including an integrative literature review, workshop with 24 participants and 21 expert interviews, this study develops the Build Back Circular (BBC) framework. The framework proposes ten action strategies: (1) Upcycle, reuse or recycle post-disaster waste, (2) Integrate circular design principles, (3) Introduce circular policies, (4) Leverage digital technologies, (5) Raise awareness and expand knowledge, (6) Drive the market with circular business opportunities, (7) Involve local communities, (8) Improve cooperation and collaborations, (9) Integrate CE principles into post-disaster urban development, and (10) Stimulate the use of healthy, local, and biobased materials. These strategies aim not only to enhance resource efficiency and resilience but also to address the social dimensions of CE, promoting an inclusive recovery. Successful implementation requires a collaborative ecosystem of government, municipalities, academia, the construction sector, and civil society. By bridging the fields of CE and disaster management, this research offers valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to integrate CE into post-disaster reconstruction and urban development processes. Beyond Türkiye’s recovery, it aims to support global disaster risk frameworks (e.g., UN’s Sendai Framework), enhancing crisis management through a CE lens.@en

In this deliverable we give guidance for housing associations for circular asset management. The guidance is based upon the circular asset management practises of the CHARM partners, demonstrating circularity in renovation and new construction projects, and the development of material exchange platforms (MEPs). Also, general insights in circular asset management practises have been used. [...]@en

In this deliverable, we briefly introduce material exchange platforms (MEPs) and explain business models associated with CHARM MEPs. An overall mapping will be presented on the sustainable business canvas based on the outcomes of related work packages.@en

Digitalization is driving innovation towards a circular economy in various industries—but the construction industry is lagging behind. The building industry, a growth sector due to increasing urbanization, is at the same time actively depleting our resources, generating waste, and emitting greenhouse gases at a tremendous scale and speed. This chapter argues that we must urgently shift from a linear take–make–waste model to a circular one whereby we utilize our resources wisely and keep them from becoming waste. The experience of reusing the glass from the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France, confronted the architects with the many challenges we face when renovating a building with circular principles. Finding architects to use the iconic bent glass instead of crushing it for recycling (or worse, for disposing it in a landfill) turned out to be a time-consuming task. Adopting artificial intelligence and digital information sharing to match materials for reuse with people who can reuse them is exactly what the construction industry needs for a paradigm shift towards circularity.@en

In this deliverable, we will briefly introduce circular building strategies and explain business models associated with CHARM strategies. An overall mapping will be presented on the sustainable business canvas based on the outcomes of related work packages.@en

The concept of Circular Economy (CE) has emerged as a promising alternative to the current linear economy, decoupling economic activity from the depletion of natural resources and promoting a restorative and regenerative system. The transition of the building industry to a circular one can be achieved through four core resource principles: Narrow (minimising the use of primary resources), slow (extending the lifetime of buildings and products), close (regaining post-use and construction waste through reuse or recycling), and regenerate (minimising toxic substances and maximising the use of renewable resources). These principles provide a framework for exploring the role of digitalisation in the transition of social housing organisations (SHOs) toward circular housing practices, with a focus on European SHOs, particularly those in the Netherlands. This thesis follows a structured format comprising six chapters, with four of them encapsulating the author’s published articles. Chapter 1 serves as the introduction, providing a contextual foundation for the research. It outlines the overarching theme of the thesis, which revolves around the intersection of CE, digitalisation, and the built environment, with a specific focus on SHOs. The chapter sets the stage by identifying the gaps in existing literature, emphasising the need for a comprehensive conceptualisation of this emerging research field. It further delves into essential methodological aspects, the problem statement, and the broader significance of the research. In Chapter 2, the research delves into an exploration of the current state of CE implementation in Dutch SHOs and provides insights into the pressing barriers, and potential enablers. A Delphi study conducted with 21 social housing professionals reveals that, as of 2020, SHOs were in an experimental phase, incorporating circular construction techniques in pilot projects. Barriers encompass organisational priorities, operating within a linear system, and a lack of awareness. Also, financial challenges related to the costs of circular materials also emerge as significant hurdles. Chapter 3 develops a framework, the Circular Digital Built Environment Framework, in an exploratory qualitative research approach. This conceptual model integrates CE principles with digital technologies to provide an understanding of their potential applications within the built environment. The framework is constructed through expert workshops, literature reviews, and evaluations of current research and practices, resulting in the identification of over ten key digital technologies. These technologies encompass a broad spectrum, including big data analytics, blockchain technology, and material passports. The framework not only informs subsequent empirical studies but also serves as a valuable guide for scholars and industry practitioners navigating the intersection of digitalisation and circularity in the building industry. Chapter 4 presents an analysis of how enabling digital technologies, identified in Chapter 3, are practically employed in real-life practices, specifically within circular new build, renovation, maintenance, and demolition projects of forerunner Dutch SHOs. Employing a multiple-case study approach, the chapter gathers empirical evidence from three large-scale SHOs through semi-structured interviews, desk research, and extensive data analysis. The within-case and cross-case analyses reveal insights into the types of digital technologies being deployed, their impact on circular practices, and the challenges encountered in their adoption. By examining the real-world examples, Chapter 4 contributes to the evolving domain of digitalisation for a circular building industry. Chapter 5 addresses the challenges associated with data (identified in Chapter 4), with a specific focus on material passports as a crucial tool for circularity in existing housing stock. Employing a multiphase mixed-method research design, the chapter utilises the SCOPIS method (Supply Chain-Oriented Process to Identify Stakeholders) for user and data mapping. This approach results in a data template outlining the requirements of users for material passports. Subsequently, the study tests this template through a case study, identifying critical data gaps and proposing a material passports framework to address these gaps. By leveraging both digital technologies and human expertise, Chapter 5 offers solutions to enhance data management in the pursuit of circularity within the building industry. The findings contribute to ongoing industry and policy initiatives. Chapter 6, the concluding chapter, consolidates the exploration conducted throughout the thesis. It presents the overarching contributions of the research, offering a summary of the scientific and practice contributions and recommendations derived from the entire study.

@en

The application of the circular economy (CE) in the building industry is critical for achieving the carbon reduction goals defined in the Paris Agreement and is increasingly promoted through European policies. In recent years, CE strategies have been applied and tested in numerous building projects in practice. However, insights into their application and decarbonisation potential are limited. This study analysed and visualised 65 novel real-world cases of new build, renovation, and demolition projects in Europe compiled from academic and grey literature. Cases were analysed regarding the circular solution applied, level of application in buildings, and decarbonisation potential reported, making this study one of the first comprehensive studies on the application and decarbonisation potential of circular strategies in the building industry in practice. The identified challenges of using LCA for CE assessment in buildings are discussed and methodological approaches for future research are suggested.

@en

Digital technologies are considered to be an essential enabler of the circular economy in various industries. However, to date, very few studies have investigated which digital technologies could enable the circular economy in the built environment. This study specifically focuses on the built environment as one of the largest, most energy- and material-intensive industries globally, and investigates the following question: which digital technologies potentially enable a circular economy in the built environment, and in what ways? The research uses an iterative stepwise method: (1) framework development based on regenerating, narrowing, slowing and closing resource loop principles; (2) expert workshops to understand the usage of digital technologies in a circular built environment; (3) a literature and practice review to further populate the emerging framework with relevant digital technologies; and (4) the final mapping of digital technologies onto the framework. This study develops a novel Circular Digital Built Environment framework. It identifies and maps ten enabling digital technologies to facilitate a circular economy in the built environment. These include: (1) additive/robotic manufacturing, (2) artificial intelligence, (3) big data and analytics, (4) blockchain technology, (5) building information modelling, (6) digital platforms/marketplaces, (7) digital twins, (8) the geographical information system, (9) material passports/databanks, and (10) the internet of things. The framework provides a fruitful starting point for the novel research avenue at the intersection of circular economy, digital technology and the built environment, and gives practitioners inspiration for sustainable innovation in the sector.

@en

Passports for circularity, e.g., digital product passports and material passports (MPs), have gained recognition as essential policy instruments for the Circular Economy goals of the European Union. Despite the growing number of approaches, there is a lack of knowledge about the data requirements and availabilities to create MPs for existing buildings. By deploying a mixed-method research design, this study identified the potential users and their data needs within the context of European social housing organisations. Three rounds of validation interviews with a total of 38 participants were conducted to create a data template for an MP covering maintenance, renovation, and demolition stages. This data template was then tested in a case study from the Netherlands to determine critical data gaps in creating MPs, including, but not limited to the composition of materials, presence of toxic or hazardous contents, condition assessment, and reuse and recycling potential of a product. Finally, an MP framework is proposed to address these data gaps by utilising the capabilities of enabling digital technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and scanning systems) and supportive knowledge of human actors. This framework supports further research and innovation in data provision in creating MPs to narrow, slow, close, and regenerate the loops.

@en

Digital technologies are considered enablers of circular economy implementation in the built environment. Literature mainly focuses on conceptual or review studies examining the role of digital tools (e.g., material passport and building information modelling) to close the material loops. There is a lack of understanding of how digital technologies are implemented in real-life and whether they offer value to the industry actors. This study conducted a multiple-case study to collect empirical evidence from Dutch social housing organizations actively applying circular principles in new construction, renovation, maintenance, and demolition projects. Our findings suggest that artificial intelligence, digital twins, and scanning technologies support data collection, integration, and analysis for slowing the loops strategies (i.e., maintenance), while digital marketplaces facilitate material reuse, enabling narrowing and closing the loops. This study identified 12 challenges that hinder the broader adoption of digital technologies that are associated with the technological, cultural, market, and regulatory factors.@en

The world is facing an alarming housing crisis. The challenge for the construction industry is to find sustainable ways to meet this growing housing demand. The concept of Circular Economy could be an alternative approach as it aims to regenerate, narrow, slow, and close resources loops. Digital technologies are seen as enablers to implementing these looping strategies through their capabilities for managing information and supporting collaboration and new business model creation. In the built environment, many digital innovations have emerged that support the circular transition of the industry at various spatial scales. However, these innovations mainly focus on nano, micro, and macro scales and lack perspectives on the meso level (real estate portfolio). This research aims to understand how digital technologies can support circular strategies at the meso level by collecting empirical evidence from the European social housing organizations actively experimenting with circular strategies. We conducted a multiple-case study method and chose two cases from the UK and Belgium. We collected data through desk research and online group interviews. Our results indicate that housing organizations adopt a wide range of circular strategies for managing their housing portfolio. The support of digital technologies to perform the circularity is low. Our findings suggest five potentially enabling digital technologies at the meso level supporting the housing sector towards circularity: circular asset management tools, digital building logbooks, material passports, BIM, and collaboration tools.@en

This article proposes a conceptual model to address the structural holes in data sharing between (and beyond) actors in the circular built environment supply chain and monitoring circular economy progress. Current digital innovations such as material passports and Building Information Modelling applications aim at increasing quality and availability of information about materials and their application in buildings to facilitate future reuse or recycling, based on the idea of buildings-as-material-banks. Although these approaches offer great potential to recover value from building materials, they mainly focus on a single building and have a limited capacity to exchange data with other supply chain actors in a timely manner. In this article, we argue that there is a need for an integrated digital infrastructure that expands beyond the industries and countries for enabling a connected global circular economy. Therefore, this article proposes an initial conceptualization of a digital infrastructure towards achieving a circular built environment. The proposed model puts forward three interoperable components: The Data Pipeline, Passport Generator, and Passport Pool, based on emerging technologies such as blockchain technology, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.@en

The concept of the Circular Economy (CE) draws on sustainability literature with its Triple Bottom Line framework of planet, profit and people (Merli, Preziosi, and Acampora 2018). This resonates with the underlying philosophy of CE, which implies “not only a change in the way of managing resources and business but also a modification of social interrelations”(Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015). However, literature on CE focuses predominantly on its economic and environmental benefits, while its social impacts remain unexplored (Kirchherret al, 2017; Merli et al, 2017; Geissdoerfer et al, 2017). Social housing organisations (SHOs)are by definition social-purpose driven and therefore ideal candidates to explore the neglected ‘people’ dimension of CE. Circular SHOs have the potential to create social impacting a number of ways. Improving their financial performance and resource efficiency ultimately strengthens the social housing sector and allows more housing investment into socio-economically disadvantaged communities. CE can change household attitudes towards embracing a more sustainable mode of dwelling and lifestyle, with added health and well-being benefits. The social impact focus of this study is the role of tenant engagement and how this can help foster a socially inclusive and collaborative CE model drawing on principles around social innovation and the social and solidarity economy. Through case studies of four circular social housing projects in the Netherlands, France,Belgium and the UK respectively, this paper addresses the missing social aspect of CE(Murray et al, 2017) by exploring the role of tenants and tenant engagement in circular social housing. A multiple-case study method is adopted using questionnaires, documentary analysis and interviews with the four circular SHOs, providing an opportunity to undertake comparative research across different organisational scales and countries.The research findings reveal different approaches to how circularity is adopted in social housing, how SHOs understand and frame the social impact of their CE projects, and a range of tenant engagement models, from ‘business-as-usual’ to ‘new circular engagement,’ within existing organizational structures. @en

Digital technologies are considered to be an essential enabler of the circular economy in various industries. However, to date, very few studies have investigated which digital technologies could enable the circular economy in the built environment. This study specifically focuses on the built environment as one of the largest, most energy- and material-intensive industries globally, and investigates the following question: which digital technologies potentially enable a circular economy in the built environment, and in what ways? The research uses an iterative stepwise method: (1) framework development based on regenerating, narrowing, slowing and closing resource loop principles; (2) expert workshops to understand the usage of digital technologies in a circular built environment; (3) a literature and practice review to further populate the emerging framework with relevant digital technologies; and (4) the final mapping of digital technologies onto the framework. This study develops a novel Circular Digital Built Environment framework. It identifies and maps ten enabling digital technologies to facilitate a circular economy in the built environment. These include: (1) additive/robotic manufacturing, (2) artificial intelligence, (3) big data and analytics, (4) blockchain technology, (5) building information modelling, (6) digital platforms/marketplaces, (7) digital twins, (8) the geographical information system, (9) material passports/databanks, and (10) the internet of things. The framework provides a fruitful starting point for the novel research avenue at the intersection of circular economy, digital technology and the built environment, and gives practitioners inspiration for sustainable innovation in the sector.@en

Nederland heeft het ambitieuze doel om een volledig circulaire economie te bereiken in 2050. Hoe gaat de gebouwde omgeving dit als meest grondstof intensieve en grote CO2 uitstoter realiseren? Wat betekent dit voor de installatietechniek? En wat is de rol van digitale technologieën in deze transitie? In dit artikel kijken we naar deze vragen door te laten zien hoe digitale innovaties zich verhouden ten aanzien van de vier basisprincipes van circulaire economie: regenereren, vernauwen, vertragen en sluiten. We lichten kort toe wat deze principes betekenen. Vervolgens laten we vanuit deze circulaire economie-principes zien hoe digitale technologieën, van blockchain tot kunstmatige intelligentie (AI), inzetbaar zijn in de installatietechniek.@en

The concept of Circular Economy (CE) and its application in the built environment is an emerging research field. Scholars approach CE from various perspectives covering a wide range of topics from material innovation to city-scale application. However, there is little research on CE implementation in housing stock, particularly that which is managed or owned by the social housing organisations (SHOs) and which offers opportunities to generate circular flows of materials at the portfolio level. This research focuses on Dutch SHOs and uses the Delphi method to examine CE practices in their asset management, as well as the main barriers to and potential enablers of its uptake. The analysis of two iterative rounds of expert questioning indicates that Dutch SHOs are in the early experimental phase in CE implementation. From the results, it is evident that organisational, cultural, and financial barriers are the most pressing ones that hinder the wider adoption of CE in their asset management. Building on the panel input, this study suggests potential enablers to overcome these barriers, such as CE legislation, best practice case studies, commitment and support from the top management, and the creation of a clear business case. @en