Circular Buildings Toolkit
The Circular Buildings Toolkit will help designers and planners create a better future in the built...
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Our built environment – made up of the buildings, roads, infrastructure and other human-made features of our surroundings – uses almost half the materials extracted globally every year and is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Current projections estimate that between now and 2060 across the world the equivalent of the city of Paris will be built each week. The way we design, construct and eventually demolish our built environment is entrenched in the linear take-make-waste economy.
By applying the principles of the circular economy to the way we design buildings, infrastructure and other elements of the built environment, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while creating urban areas that are more liveable, productive and convenient. A circular economycircular economyA systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. It is based on three principles, driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature. could reduce global CO2 emissions from building materials by 38% in 2050, by reducing demand for steel, aluminium, cement, and plastic. It could also make the sector more resilient to supply chain disruptions and price volatility of raw materials.
By rethinking the way we design our built environment, using new technologies and innovative business models, we can realise more value from existing assets, keep resources and building materials in the economy, and stop them from becoming waste.
A circular economy could reduce global CO2 emissions from building materials by 38% in 2050
Adopting a circular economy approach in a high-growth, high-waste sector like the built environment presents a huge opportunity to capture more value. For investors and construction clients, this means an improved return on investment, while also contributing to achieving carbon emissions targets.
Organisations across the value chain in the built environment sector – from city governments to developers, asset managers to construction product manufacturers – can redesign the sector using the principles of a circular economy to better manage resources and create value.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation works to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. We develop and promote the idea of a circular economy, and work with business, academia, policymakers, and institutions to mobilise systems solutions at scale, globally.
Charity Registration No.: 1130306
OSCR Registration No.: SC043120
Company No.: 6897785
Ellen MacArthur Foundation ANBI RSIN nummer: 8257 45 925
The work of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is supported by our Strategic Partners and Partners.