Designing buildings in the context of the circular economy

Following up on the construction 2020 strategy and in line with the upcoming new circular economy action plan, we present the paper Circular economy principles for building design (2020).

We are suggesting an approach to circular design, focused on durability and adaptability as well as waste reduction and high-quality waste management.

The paper aims to help reduce the environmental impacts and lifecycle costs of buildings. The target audience is construction industry actors, including economic operators in the value chain, policymakers, legal and technical actors.

We’ve built on insights and expertise from stakeholders along the construction value chain. And so, the paper went through several rounds of exchange before evolving into this final version.

The document is aligned with Level(s), a voluntary reporting framework to improve the sustainability of buildings.