Publicação
Assessment of Europe’s circular economy in the construction sector
| Resumo: | The research is dedicated to the evaluation of the implementation level of the circular economy in the construction sector in Europe. The circular economy (CE) has received increasing attention in the last decade. However, only 10% of the studies concern the construction sector, where the concept implementation is still at its begging and treated as a trend for environmental practices. Integrating the CE principles in the construction sector urge as the sectors’ practices are harmful to the environment, being responsible for 42% of total Europe's energy consumption, more than 50% of extracted materials, 30% of Europe’s water consumption, and waste generation, and 35% of the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. The research holds the assessment of the studies done about the CE and its principles in the construction sector, carried out in a review using namely Scopus and Web of Science as databases. Of 1750 publications, only 2.9% were eligible for a full-text reading and analysis. The goal is to extract the relevant information and to deduce an optimal solution to implement the circular economy principles into the life cycle of buildings and construction materials. A great part of the studies, 41%, is still promoting the recycle and reuse as traditional practices that should be performed in the construction sector. One concluded that the “Recover” principle should be eliminated from the CE principles as its practice harms the environment. One discovered that the key to optimal CE implementation in the construction sector is to combine the CE principles with the life cycle of materials and buildings. One proposed a new circular economy framework adequate for the construction sector activities, where the principles of the concept are optimized and adapted to all the life stages of construction and circular strategies are suggested for closing the loop by applyingsustainable manufacturing, lifespan extension, waste management, and design for assembly and disassembly. Furthermore, one suggested “upcycling” as a new practice for the design strategy, with the aim of discarding as few architectural components as possible, eliminating waste, and especially, closing the loop at 100%. |
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| Autores principais: | Mrad, Cyrine |
| Assunto: | Circular economy Construction sector Sustainable manufacturing Upcycling |
| Ano: | 2022 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Instituto Politécnico de Bragança |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Biblioteca Digital do IPB |
| Resumo: | The research is dedicated to the evaluation of the implementation level of the circular economy in the construction sector in Europe. The circular economy (CE) has received increasing attention in the last decade. However, only 10% of the studies concern the construction sector, where the concept implementation is still at its begging and treated as a trend for environmental practices. Integrating the CE principles in the construction sector urge as the sectors’ practices are harmful to the environment, being responsible for 42% of total Europe's energy consumption, more than 50% of extracted materials, 30% of Europe’s water consumption, and waste generation, and 35% of the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. The research holds the assessment of the studies done about the CE and its principles in the construction sector, carried out in a review using namely Scopus and Web of Science as databases. Of 1750 publications, only 2.9% were eligible for a full-text reading and analysis. The goal is to extract the relevant information and to deduce an optimal solution to implement the circular economy principles into the life cycle of buildings and construction materials. A great part of the studies, 41%, is still promoting the recycle and reuse as traditional practices that should be performed in the construction sector. One concluded that the “Recover” principle should be eliminated from the CE principles as its practice harms the environment. One discovered that the key to optimal CE implementation in the construction sector is to combine the CE principles with the life cycle of materials and buildings. One proposed a new circular economy framework adequate for the construction sector activities, where the principles of the concept are optimized and adapted to all the life stages of construction and circular strategies are suggested for closing the loop by applyingsustainable manufacturing, lifespan extension, waste management, and design for assembly and disassembly. Furthermore, one suggested “upcycling” as a new practice for the design strategy, with the aim of discarding as few architectural components as possible, eliminating waste, and especially, closing the loop at 100%. |
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