Vocabulary
Terms and definitions on affordable and sustainable housing *
Circular Economy
Area: Design, planning and building
Circular Economy (CE), also referred to as circularity, is a sustainability concept applied to various industries – including the built environment – which aims to improve the way products are made and consumed, avoiding the destruction of resources. The CE idea is founded on the rejection of the current take-make-waste model and instead supports one that is “restorative or regenerative by intention and design” (EMF, 2013, p.7). The European Commission defines CE as “a system which maintains the value of products, materials and resources in the economy for as long as possible and minimises the generation of waste” (EUR-Lex, 2021). CE builds upon concepts such as Cradle-to-Cradle (McDonough & Braungart, 2002) and The Performance Economy (Stahel, 2010). The term has recently grown in popularity, as evidenced in a study by Kirchherr et al., who identified 221 CE definitions, though the meaning of the term remains largely ambiguous (2023).
CE encompasses both design and business considerations to better ensure products are responsibly managed and retained at their highest value possible within the value chain, rather than destroyed. Business strategies include shifting consumption from selling products to services; this can take the form of Product-as-as-Service models or take-back schemes (Tukker, 2015). Several prominent theoretical frameworks support the CE transition, these include the R-Ladder outlining a decision-making hierarchy (Potting et al., 2017), the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Butterfly diagram which distinguishes technological materials from biological materials (EMF, 2013), and Bocken et al.’s four strategies defining the need to close, slow, narrow, and regenerate resource loops (2016). Key circular construction approaches that facilitate circularity in a systematic way include design for disassembly and industrialised construction.
Several political instruments under the European Green Deal promote the progression towards a circular economy in buildings and housing, most notably the Circular Economy Action Plan (European Commission, 2020) and the Waste Framework Directive (EC, 2008). Despite these initiatives and the potential for the CE transition to improve both the environmental sustainability and affordability of housing, it is still in the early stages in Europe. This is largely due to building complexity, short-term financial barriers, and persistence of common practices such as extracting virgin materials and building demolition. However, several practical advancements that have been implemented include Circular Economy Statements within the London Plan (GLA, 2022), the Building Circularity Indicator (BCI) in the Netherlands (Alba Concepts, n.d.), and the Building Circularity Tool by OneClick LCA (n.d.).
Created on 30-09-2024
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* This vocabulary consists of definitions of key terms related to the combined research conducted by the 15 early-stage researchers. Each term has multiple definitions, each connected to one of the three main research areas: Design, Construction and Planning; Community Involvement; and Policy and Funding.
The joint construction of this vocabulary allows the researchers' projects to be interwoven. As such, the vocabulary is a tool for conducting transdisciplinary research on affordable and sustainable housing.
Entries are reviewed by RE-DWELL researchers and supervisors. The vocabulary is updated regularly.