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Program aims to encourage adoption of circular economy principles in building and construction industry utilising modular construction.
The World Green Building Council has recently published a guide to promote the implementation of circular economy and resource efficiency principles in the built environment with modular construction and adaptive reuse emphasised.
The Circular Built Environment Playbook presents more than 20 strategies for implementing circular design, construction, and operation. According to the report, circular economy principles can help achieve global climate targets by minimising the extraction of materials, using more efficient designs, modular construction, optimising nature-based solutions, and closing material loops at the end of a building’s lifecycle.
The Circularity Gap Report 2022 states that a year’s worth of biological resources were used in just seven months in 2022, indicating that we are consuming 75% more than the earth can replenish each year. The report also highlights that the world is only 7.2% circular, and all other products made are being discarded. This highlights the urgent need to adopt circular economy principles and reduce wasteful practices in all sectors, including the built environment.
Cities are responsible for an estimated 70% of all global greenhouse gas emissions and consume almost half of the resources extracted globally, according to the UN. The circular economy provides an opportunity to regenerate resources and accelerate socio-economic development, particularly in cities. The report emphasises that the circular built environment has never been more important.
The World Green Building Council’s CEO, Cristina Gamboa, emphasises the importance of sustainable, circular decision-making and increasing awareness and accessibility of circular economy solutions. She states, “It is clear that if we want to secure a future for our planet and people, then we cannot keep going on this path of consumption and waste. That’s why our network is taking action to guide all stakeholders towards sustainable, circular decision-making.”
According to the report: “At construction phase, low embodied carbon construction processes are utilised – such as modular construction – and higher performance standards are implemented around construction waste. The use of sustainable materials and products is a priority through all decision-making processes.”
To further encourage the adoption of circular economy and resource efficiency in the building and construction sector, the World Green Building Council launched the Circularity Accelerator program. The program is a WorldGBC initiative that aims to shine a light on the available solutions and promote the adoption of circular economy principles in the industry. The playbook was produced in consultation with a steering committee and expert panel, and the WorldGBC partnered with Brightworks Sustainability, Foster + Partners, Vinzero and Kingspan, WSP and CBRE to produce the guide.
According to Chris Trott, the head of sustainability at Foster + Partners, “Adopting circularity in the built environment is essential to achieve a regenerative balance, by facilitating the decarbonisation of the industry, limiting finite raw materials extraction and waste production all while staying within planetary boundaries.”
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