Coenen, T; Visscher, K and Volker, L (2022) Circular economy or circular construction? How circularity is understood by construction practitioners. In: Tutesigensi, A and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 38th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2022, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK.
Abstract
The increasing popularity of the Circular Economy (CE) concept in construction has come with a myriad of publications and solutions that aim to contribute to the transition. However, CE is still debated and the interpretations and framings in practice seem to be equivocal. In this study we developed two models: one to map the societal challenges that are addressed by CE and one to map the solutions. Here, we take the interpretations of practitioners as a basis to define CE in the Dutch construction context by means of 20 semi-structured interviews. Results revealed that there is a wide variety of societal challenges addressed by CE. Circular solutions in the current construction industry turn out to be highly asset and material specific. However, there seems to be a shared understanding of the solution strategies that contribute to becoming circular. Nevertheless, this collection of solution strategies does only partly address the main challenges mentioned. The results imply that a better alignment between problems and solutions is necessary to address CE. Therefore, we urge for context-specific considerations of CE and for distinguishing between CE and circular construction.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | circular economy; sustainability transitions; design science; system change; problem-solution space |
| Index terms: | framing, circular economy, construction practitioner, science, strategy, circularity, becoming, interview, publication, construction industry, practitioner |
| Subjects: | specialized education, sustainable materials, practitioner, data collection methods, research dissemination and communication, conceptual models, sustainable design, professional development, management, philosophical process, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Sustainability, Business Strategy, Information Management, Research Practice, Education |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here