A Review of Europe’s Circular Economy in the Building Sector

Mrad, Cyrine; Ribeiro, Luís Frölén

doi:10.3390/su142114211

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Future research might consider not only the role of waste separation, but also the propensity of each province/region to develop those practices related to the circular economy guidelines [132,133]. One example is represented by more energy-intensive sectors with a high environmental footprint (such as the construction industry): both academics and practitioners are investigating new ways to minimise waste and increase the reuse of resources through the application of digital technologies, following buildings' and materials' life cycles [134,135].…”

Section: Conclusion and Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pro-Environmental Determinants of Waste Separation: Does the Interaction of Human and Social Capital Matter? Evidence from Italian Provinces

2023

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Sustainable practices should include proper incentives and involve a large part of the population to achieve a significant environmental impact. Human capital is considered one of the factors that affect pro-environmental behaviours: more educated people tend to be more aware of waste management processes. Another factor is social capital, as far as the feeling of belonging to a society might involve people in adopting sustainable practices. However, these two concepts are strictly related and deserve to be studied as complementary to each other. Thus, this article investigates whether social capital might support waste recycling when interacting with the accumulation of human capital at a provincial level. Our analysis relies on a unique dataset of 103 Italian provinces for the period 2004–2017. Results suggest that while human and social capital has a negative effect on waste separation, their interaction turns out to be positive and even stronger when we consider Southern provinces with respect to the whole country. This finding might be of interest not only from an academic viewpoint, but also from a policymaker’s perspective to alleviate the pledge of waste separation, which has affected the South of Italy in recent decades.

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Section: Conclusion and Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pro-Environmental Determinants of Waste Separation: Does the Interaction of Human and Social Capital Matter? Evidence from Italian Provinces

2023

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“…One approach to reduce the demand of raw material as well as the amount of waste and typically the embodied energy is the circular economy (CE). In the building sector the CE approach is still at the beginning [6,7]. Especially the reuse of components of building services hasn't been fully examined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reuse potential of building services in building relocation

Pichlmeier,

Lindner

2024

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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While the energy consumption for building operation for new buildings in Germany is limited by law, there is currently no regulation for the embodied energy and the amount of primary raw material used in construction. However, the embodied energy and the amount of primary raw material of energy efficient buildings are increasing due to higher insulation standards and advanced building services. Nevertheless, the embodied energy of buildings and the use of recycled materials are rarely considered in the planning process. In the research project “Rural Mining” the relocation of two single-family homes and one two-family home in prefabricated timber construction was monitored. After serving as exhibition houses for ten to twenty years, the three buildings were transferred to new sites. Besides the reuse potential of prefabricated timber elements, the reuse potential of the building services was investigated. In this paper the focus lies on building services. The type, the amount and the material of the building services were recorded. The dismantling of the building services was documented and a Life Cycle Assessment was conducted. The paper will give an overview of the relocation process. The single steps and the reuse rates for the examined buildings will be shown. The aims are to define strategies to increase the reuse potential of building services and to draw conclusions for resource efficiency in future new buildings or renovations.

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“…This "take-make-dispose" approach significantly threatened the sustainability of the natural environment, resulting in natural resource waste and carbon dioxide emissions [2]. As a major industry sector in many countries, construction is responsible for 50% of raw material consumption and 35% of carbon dioxide emissions [3]. To eliminate natural resource waste, minimize carbon dioxide emissions, and ultimately protect the natural environment, there is a call for a paradigm shift from the linear economy to the circular economy in the construction industry [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of Digital Twin and Circular Economy in the Construction Industry

Meng,

Das,

Meng

2023

Sustainability

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As a major industry sector, construction is gradually transitioning from the linear economy to the circular economy. Due to various barriers or challenges, the circular economy within construction progresses at a slow pace. Digital technologies can help construction address these barriers or challenges. As a new generation of digital technologies, the digital twin is still seldom used in construction for the circular economy at the current stage. The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the implementation of the circular economy, as well as the integration of a digital twin and the circular economy, in construction. Based on a review of the relevant literature, this study adopts a combination of expert interviews as a qualitative research method and questionnaire surveys as a quantitative research method. The findings of this study suggest that design and demolition, which are closely linked to each other with regard to circular economy strategies, are more important than other project phases. The digital twin has great potential to improve circular economy practice. It can play some important roles in different project phases throughout the life cycle of a construction project, to achieve the circular economy. Digital twin–circular economy integration makes it effective for construction to overcome circular economy barriers or challenges, reduce waste, and increase salvage value.

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A Review of Europe’s Circular Economy in the Building Sector

Cited by 8 publications

References 59 publications

Pro-Environmental Determinants of Waste Separation: Does the Interaction of Human and Social Capital Matter? Evidence from Italian Provinces

Pro-Environmental Determinants of Waste Separation: Does the Interaction of Human and Social Capital Matter? Evidence from Italian Provinces

Reuse potential of building services in building relocation

Integration of Digital Twin and Circular Economy in the Construction Industry

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