Principles of circular economy for building sector: a systematic review

Abstract

Globally, the building sector accounts for almost 40% of resource use and waste production and nearly 33% of greenhouse gas emissions. The Circular Economy (CE) and the adoption of its principles are currently recognised as one of the options to address these unsustainable issues. Despite, these principles are represented differently within three main domains: (1) collections of R-imperatives or R-framework, (2) CE loops, and (3) the ReSOLVE model, makes it a challenge for embracing CE principles in the building sector. A systematic literature review was carried out to respond to the research question "What are the R-imperatives that are applicable for the building sector as CE principles?", using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA). It yielded a total of 23 papers to analyse. This review confirms that although alternative domains exist, the most practical CE principles seem to be confined to R-imperatives. The study provides 17 R-imperatives in the descending order of their circularity, along with their definitions. Finally, these R-imperatives are logically linked with principles of other two CE domains. This would provide a clear understanding of CE principles and thereby enable CE applications in the building sector.