Business case

Producing building materials and providing services to create residential and non-residential infrastructure and real estate


Construction and Infrastructure

Work together throughout the supply chain, internally within organisations and with the public sector and communities to increase transparency and create joint value

Team up to create joint value

Industries

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The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

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Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

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Based on the work of [Bocken et al. (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309699661_Product_design_and_business_model_strategies_for_a_circular_economy), the Four Flows Framework serves as a simple framework for managing resource flows in a circular economy by using less (Narrow), using for longer (Slow), using again (Cycle), and using clean, regenerative materials and energy (Regenerate).

These different principles of circular economy can be applied to our socioeconomic metabolism: we can design stocks like buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and vehicles to be rich resource mines for the future, and design manufactured goods and consumables to be cycled and made regenerative. Furthermore, the focus must also centre on getting more value out of fewer materials. Achieving the aims of a circular economy—minimising material use, regenerating the Earth, and preventing material losses—can be done through these four key strategies mentioned above.

Source: Circle Economy. (2023). *[The circularity gap report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)* (p.22). Amsterdam: Circle Economy. 

Four Flows Framework

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  Weblogs  Blog post | 07-06-2021 | Consulate General in TorontoAs part of the commitment to a full circular economy by 2050, the Netherlands has set an important interim goal to halve primary resource usage by 2030 by keeping existing materials in the economy. What role can the construction sector play? And how can Canada and the Netherlands learn from each other when it comes to circular building? Senior trade officer Marjan Lahuis opened the session, moderated by Paul van der Werf from AET Group, stating that the construction sector, together with the materials industries that support it, is one of the major global users of natural resources. Therefore, it is important to shift gears and look into ways to maximize the efficient use of resources by using fewer raw materials and less energy, as well as looking for ways to repurpose materials where possible.Working towards long-term goals According to Marijn Emanuel, from Dutch W-E consultancy, the circular economy is a way for us to achieve the balance between the environment, social and economic aspects, thus achieving a sustainable society. As part of their long-term goals, the Netherlands has established the platform CB’23. The platform is committed to drafting agreements for the entire Dutch construction sector: both residential and non-residential construction and civil engineering.
    
CB’23 addresses themes like public procurement (fully circular in 2023), measuring circularity and circular design strategies. In that regard, Emanuel highlighted material passports, that identify materials as used and reuse them to prevent those materials from going to waste.
Considering environmental impact Matthew Hirsch and Dora Vancso from Purpose Building gave a Canadian perspective on circular economy principles for buildings. In Canada, certifications like LEED are stimulating circular thinking by rewarding better material selection. There is an increased used of materials that have a lower environmental impact and that help closing the loop.
    
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is becoming an important tool in building construction to quantify the environmental impacts. At this time, more than half of the embodied emissions come from the use of concrete. The more energy efficient the buildings become, the larger embodied emissions relative impact would be. Canada generates about 4 million tonnes of construction waste, only 16 per cent is diverted from landfill. When looking at the materials that are deemed as waste over the lifetime of the building, over 75 per cent has residual value. The challenge is to eliminate the idea of waste in each phase of the construction process.
Holistic collaboration Jen Hancock from Chandos spoke about a collaborative model to construction project delivery. The Integrated Project Delivery model (IPD) is particularly advantageous for circular buildings, which involves various stakeholders working together holistically towards a single goal, rather than a more hierarchical structure that traditional project delivery structures use.
    
However, while circular building projects benefit from this approach, it requires strong communication in order to succeed. The collaborative model provides all stakeholders with a high level of transparency.
Thinking differently Jurrian Knijtijzer from Finch Buildings stressed the importance of thinking differently in the construction industry. In Europe, the build environment is responsible for 36 per cent of all CO2 emissions.
    
Modular building is one of the ways to build using circular economy concepts. Using timber instead of concrete, for example, reduces the emissions of construction. Modules or their elements can be reused. A challenge for the building industry is its long-term focus. The life of materials can be extended in the construction industry by finding different ways of re-using the material once its first use is done. - With files from Kartik Moorthy
Want to watch the full episode? To watch the full recording of the webinar, please click here.More information The webinar “Another (reused) brick in the wall: the circular approach to building buildings” is part of the series “Making the Circular Economy Real”, organized by the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Toronto and Canada Circular Hotspot. Key objectives of the webinar series are increasing participant’s knowledge, expanding networks, showing the circular economy in real world action and inspiring the development of new circular economy projects in Ontario and across Canada. Please find below the recordings of the previous webinars in the series “Making the Circular Economy Real”: Contact us Are you interested in learning more about the Dutch-Canadian cooperation or in connecting with Dutch parties, for inspiration, networking or doing business? We would love to hear from you, so feel free to reach out to our Economic Affairs team at tor-ea@minbuza.nl.    (Trade) Mission accomplished – now what?    


     By optimizing early engagement from all stakeholders - trade partners, architects, owners, and contractors - IPD creates a much deeper level of collaboration. It naturally fosters efficiency, innovation and goal alignment.       We've completed more IPD projects than any other contractor in the country.    Our teams have accumulated over 11 million dollars in cost savings. And 12 months worth of saved time.    Consistently, partners across all of our IPD projects would like to do it again.           DELIVERY   The project delivery method is the single greatest determinant of success - in terms of cost control, quality of work, schedule, performance and positive social impact. See how IPD compares to other delivery methods.        OUR WORK  Sample IPD projects      Barrie Simcoe Emergency Services Campus | 190,000 sq. ft. | $86M Diverting more that 92 per cent of waste during this project, the team consistantly delivered on their waste management goals.The final project was the result of an intense and iterative process. This collaborative approach brought together diverse teams to work collectively towards one goal: providing exceptional value to the client. Read More.    Canada Games Aquatic Centre | 135,000 sq. ft. | $13.5M The City of Kamloops was the first municipality in British Columbia to pursue and complete a project by way of IPD. This major renovation was for the Canada Games Aquatic Centre: their main aquatic facility originally constructed in 1992 consisting of a pool and future additions of an amenity pool, sauna, steam room and slide. Read More.    Sakaw Terrace Senior Housing | 140,000 sq. ft. | $39M This seniors living facility includes 158 units with balconies; a parking garage; two courtyards; a communal greenhouse;  amenities such as a salon, an exercise facility, a theatre room, a commercial kitchen, a dining area, and a multi-faith room. Read More.          	

Chandos

<p>Circular construction requires high levels of collaboration across the project lifescycle, compared to the more hierarchical structure that traditional project delivery structures use. Chandos' Integrated Project Delivery model aims to optimise early engagement from all stakeholders—from trade partners and architects to owners and contractors—in order create a much deeper level of collaboration and provide all with a high level of transparency. This is particularly well suited for circular construction projects.</p>