Life Cycle Assessment and Circular Economy in building design practice – Two sides of the same coin?

Natural resource use has increased 23-fold worldwide in the last century and will increase further. At the same time, the amount of waste and global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) rise. The built environment is responsible for about 40% of GHG emissions, resource use and waste streams. As such, new strategies to plan buildings are needed to achieve climate goals and a transition to a sustainable life.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become the standard for environmental performance assessment of buildings. However, it currently has its limitations with regards to reuse and recycling of building materials. Different strategies for Circular Economy (CE) have been developed in recent years. Currently, a clear and commonly accepted definition is lacking, making a quantitive assessment difficult.

This project aims to structure, harmonise and combine both methods for the application of new buildings.

The methodological approach is based on a structured literature review which is complemented by analysis of building case studies.

Furthermore, a detailed LCA of 25 building case studies considering different scenarios provides the basis to derive LCA benchmarks that support practitioners.

The application of common CE strategies to these case studies and assessment through LCA will allow reliable quantification of the environmental benefits.

Next to these scientific outcomes, guidance for practitioners on implementing and quantifying CE in the construction sector will be produced.