In this podcast with Arup Senior Engineer Richard Boyd we explore how CEOs and their Board members can make sense of the Circular Economy in the built environment.

A circular lens encourages businesses to consider the impact of potential future events on asset value, and how the assets might adapt to new circumstances. If Covid leads to reduced demand for office space, how can offices be re-purposed without expensive and wasteful deconstruction? This is not without problems, as the experience of New York showed when businesses relocated to mid town Manhattan after 9/11 and offices were converted to residential use with mixed success. The UK has also had mixed success in commercial to residential conversion, as highlighted by RICS research on Permitted Development Rights https://www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/research/research-reports/assessing-the-impacts-of-extending-permitted-development-rights-to-office-to-residential-change-of-use-in-england/

The Circular economy in buildings is inspiring new business models such as Philips’ Signify, https://www.lighting.philips.com/main/cases/cases/airports/schiphol-airport Kaer https://www.caas-initiative.org/news/video-case-study-kaer-implements-caas-in-singapore/ and Mitsubishi Electric https://emea.mitsubishielectric.com/en/products-solutions/building/index.html Respectively they offer light, cooling and vertical transportation as a service to buildings occupiers. This gives occupiers assurances on running costs (since they do not own the systems) and incentivises the providers to minimise resource use, maximise component longevity and ensure they can be remanufactured for future clients.

Law makers are beginning to set Circular Economy performance standards. Denmark has a strategy to reduce GNP per tonne of material used https://dakofa.com/element/danish-national-strategy-for-circular-economy/#:~:text=Circular%20economy%20is%20all%20about,but%20in%20a%20new%20product.

The Netherlands aims to be 100% circular by 2050 and Amsterdam aims to halve the use of virgin material per unit of economic output by 2030. https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/business/news-and-insights/circular-economy#:~:text=Amsterdam%20and%20the%20Netherlands%20are,to%20minimise%20waste%20of%20resources

Read more:

https://www.arup.com/perspectives/publica

For more information on the World Built Environment Forum please visit: https://www.rics.org/uk/wbef/

If you are interested in any of the documents, guidance or work that Sean mentioned please visit: https://www.rics.org/uk/

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WBEF: The Circular Economy and the Built Environment with Richard Boyd, Arup #37