Investigating the Required Operational Changes in the Construction Industry to Comply with Circular Economy Concepts

Abstract

Circular economy has been widely considered an efficient concept to reduce carbon emissions in the built environment. Many researchers have investigated frameworks, strategies, and technologies to drive the implementation of circular economy principles. However, the evidence remains inadequate to show industry partners and researchers what changes should be made to current construction practices so that stakeholders can successfully adopt circular economy principles to improve project performance. To fill this knowledge gap, this study carried out a questionnaire survey to collect data and analyze different scenarios of implementing changes in construction projects to realize circular economy targets – slowing, narrowing, and closing resource flows. The questionnaire was shared through email and social media platforms. In total, 59 responses were recorded as effective and were used to conduct a descriptive analysis. Results showed that modern methods of construction (MMC) was a better alternative to traditional construction. MMC reduces wastage on-site and allows stakeholders to reduce the requirement of raw materials in new projects. Based on these findings, recommendations are made to provide a direction for future research to help the construction industry transform toward UN’s Net-zero Action and help stakeholders bring up certain fundamental changes required to comply with the concept in companies.