292
S. Giorgi et al.
environment. After Boulding, many others (Georgescu-Roegen; Costanza; Daly;
Commoner) have discussed this connection, gradually influencing the policy
framework. The argument is still open and all economic sectors are still working to
find a solution to decouple economic growth from its environmental impacts
(UNEP 2011). Since 2014, European policies have promoted, as part of green
economy objectives, the transition towards a circular economy, which focuses on
the importance of activating virtuous strategies such as reuse and recycling in order
to reduce the quantity of raw materials extracted, and reduce the quantity of waste
(European Commission 2014, 2015).
The construction sector is identified as a ‘priority area’ to transform the current
linear economy towards a circular economy. In fact, the construction sector is the
main sector that produces waste, representing 33.5% of the total waste generated
by all economic activities (Eurostat 2016), and one of the main causes of resource
consumption. Moreover, the construction sector is crucial because it provides 18
million direct jobs and contributes to about 9% of the EU’s GDP (European
Commission 2018). Thus, current studies are looking for solutions to apply the
circular economy concept to the built environment.
At the same time, the necessary regeneration of European building stock
represents a challenge that can also be an important opportunity to apply circular
economy to the built environment. The renovation of buildings could be a
favourable circumstance to change the decision-making process, promoting the
maintenance and life prolongation of existing buildings, and to change the
material/waste flows, promoting the conservation of resources through reuse and
recycling. In order to activate an actually sustainable circular economy, it is
fundamental to assess the sustainability of the new practices towards circularity,
within a life cycle perspective. Therefore, the introduction of life cycle tools to
verify the level of sustainability during the building process is, now more than ever,
crucial: if the building process has to change to achieve a circular process, it is
important to change it in an effective and sustainable way.
There are a lot of challenges, especially because buildings are complex systems in
a continuous state of change: they are constituted by various elements, with different
lifespan and functions, and the building process involves a lot of stakeholders (Fig. 1).
2 The Circular Economy in the Built Environment
The holistic concept of circular economy in the built environment can be declined
at three levels. According to Pomponi and Moncaster (2017): on a macro-level,
regarding a system of cities or urban agglomerates, on a meso-level, which considers
the buildings’ scale, and on a micro-level, focusing on the material dimension.
The macro-level is discussed by many studies (e.g. Prendeville et al. 2018) which
apply the circular economy principle on an urban level through the ‘urban mining
approach’, considering the systemic management of anthropogenic resources stocked
S. Giorgi et al.
environment. After Boulding, many others (Georgescu-Roegen; Costanza; Daly;
Commoner) have discussed this connection, gradually influencing the policy
framework. The argument is still open and all economic sectors are still working to
find a solution to decouple economic growth from its environmental impacts
(UNEP 2011). Since 2014, European policies have promoted, as part of green
economy objectives, the transition towards a circular economy, which focuses on
the importance of activating virtuous strategies such as reuse and recycling in order
to reduce the quantity of raw materials extracted, and reduce the quantity of waste
(European Commission 2014, 2015).
The construction sector is identified as a ‘priority area’ to transform the current
linear economy towards a circular economy. In fact, the construction sector is the
main sector that produces waste, representing 33.5% of the total waste generated
by all economic activities (Eurostat 2016), and one of the main causes of resource
consumption. Moreover, the construction sector is crucial because it provides 18
million direct jobs and contributes to about 9% of the EU’s GDP (European
Commission 2018). Thus, current studies are looking for solutions to apply the
circular economy concept to the built environment.
At the same time, the necessary regeneration of European building stock
represents a challenge that can also be an important opportunity to apply circular
economy to the built environment. The renovation of buildings could be a
favourable circumstance to change the decision-making process, promoting the
maintenance and life prolongation of existing buildings, and to change the
material/waste flows, promoting the conservation of resources through reuse and
recycling. In order to activate an actually sustainable circular economy, it is
fundamental to assess the sustainability of the new practices towards circularity,
within a life cycle perspective. Therefore, the introduction of life cycle tools to
verify the level of sustainability during the building process is, now more than ever,
crucial: if the building process has to change to achieve a circular process, it is
important to change it in an effective and sustainable way.
There are a lot of challenges, especially because buildings are complex systems in
a continuous state of change: they are constituted by various elements, with different
lifespan and functions, and the building process involves a lot of stakeholders (Fig. 1).
2 The Circular Economy in the Built Environment
The holistic concept of circular economy in the built environment can be declined
at three levels. According to Pomponi and Moncaster (2017): on a macro-level,
regarding a system of cities or urban agglomerates, on a meso-level, which considers
the buildings’ scale, and on a micro-level, focusing on the material dimension.
The macro-level is discussed by many studies (e.g. Prendeville et al. 2018) which
apply the circular economy principle on an urban level through the ‘urban mining
approach’, considering the systemic management of anthropogenic resources stocked