Sanchez, B and Haas, C (2018) Capital project planning for a circular economy. Construction Management and Economics, 36(6), pp. 303-312. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
Achieving true sustainability in the conceptualization of new building projects requires radical change compared to traditional green-field projects; circular building principles in a circular economy must become a fundamental part of the process. These principles include product recovery management, life cycle assessment (LCA), design for disassembly sequence planning, adaptability, deconstruction, closed materials loops and dematerialization. These principles recognize the importance of the End-of-Life stage in existing buildings, including adaptive reuse as an attractive alternative in a circular economy. However, the early phases of capital project delivery lack well-developed methods to: (1) decide amongst green-field construction versus adaptive reuse, (2) pre-project planning for closed-loop cycle construction and (3) plan for the optimization of the benefits of adaptive reuse. In this article, we argue that the early capital projects delivery phases for a circular economy should have distinct stages, decision gates and more appropriate planning methods, such as selective disassembly, LCA monetization protocols and optimization methods. An investigation of related studies underpins the capital project planning framework proposed and the research that must still be accomplished to enable a more circular economy in the capital projects sector.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | adaptive reuse; capital projects; circular economy; closed-loop cycle construction; life cycle assessment; net environmental impacts; sustainability |
| Index terms: | planning method, recovery, circular economy, adaptive reuse, investigation, capital project, net environmental impact, design for disassembly, life cycle assessment, closed-loop cycle construction, adaptability, selective disassembly, project planning |
| Subjects: | environmental impact, control systems, data collection methods, user focus, strategic project management, urban planning, sustainability and energy, operations management, sustainable design, renovation and retrofit |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Governance, Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
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