Updated on 20/03/2025
It is both UK government policy and devolved governments’ policies to create economies that are circular. Such policies have been in existence for some time and have resulted in some tangible changes such as reusable shopping bags. However, where buildings are concerned, it is more difficult to see much evidence of changes which have resulted from policies, despite the fact that buildings account for 39% of global energy-related carbon emissions. Such policies are currently being enhanced, for example in Northern Ireland.
Whilst there is so much talk about making buildings more thermally efficient and also making them more resilient to the effects of climate change, by just focusing on these issues in dealing with the climate emergency, we are missing out on other things that we should be doing. If anybody wants to look at the detail of what actions are being taken to deal with climate change, they will easily see that we are not taking all the opportunities that are available to us.
However, climate change is not the only issue to focus on, and the continuation of using the earth’s resources in what we call the linear economy, will eventually result in those resources being depleted. In answering the question of why sustainable building design needs the circular economy, we’ll cover:
- What Is the Linear Economy vs Circular Economy?
- In Context: The Circular Economy and Sustainable Development Goals
- The Circular Economy Strategy in Northern Ireland
- Circular Economy Principles for Buildings Design
- Retrofit and Sustainable Design
What Is the Linear Economy vs Circular Economy?
A linear economy is one that has a focus on taking, making, using and disposing. This is not a sustainable approach as eventually the world will run out of resources and materials. It can also be expensive, if we make something once, throw it away, and then make another. It’s also bad for the environment and has made a huge contribution to the climate emergency that we are now facing.
A circular economy is very different as it means reducing our use of the earth’s resources that cannot be replenished. It entails switching to materials we can reuse and fuels we can produce over and over again, which we call renewable energy. It means that we cut down substantially on the waste we create, as we hold on to products and materials for as long as possible.
In Context: The Circular Economy and Sustainable Development Goals
The emphasis is therefore on sustainability. There are many things that should be considered if we are to properly focus on being sustainable. The United Nations have 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Many of these are obviously interlinked.
Goal 1 is about preventing poverty and that very much relates to goal 2, which is zero hunger. These two goals relate to goal 7 which is affordable and clean energy. Many families have to choose between eating or heating because they are in fuel poverty hence the need to ensure that buildings are efficient in the use of energy.
We can link some of these other goals together and looking at this as an overall concept, if we do not address goal 13 which is climate action then we will not achieve goal 14 which is life below water, or goal 15 which is life on land, If we cannot achieve these goals then we risk not achieving goal number 6 which is clean water and sanitation.
Ultimately however, we must also focus on goal 12 which is responsible for consumption and production, which is one of the main things we’ve been focusing on when describing the need for a circular economy.
The Circular Economy Strategy in Northern Ireland
In 2024, our leading expert in dealing with climate change, sustainability and the retrofit of buildings, Professor John Edwards, presented on the need for a circular economy at the RICS Northern Ireland Annual Conference in Belfast. The basis of his discussion was on the Northern Ireland Government’s Strategy to create a circular economy.
The Northern Ireland Governments Strategy to create a circular economy, refers to the European Commission’s circular economy action plan of 2020. This describes the overall means to create a circular economy, but much of which may not specifically be applicable to buildings. However, when it mentions improving product durability, we can focus on the overall durability of buildings and the durability of its components and materials. One may conclude that buildings and components are not as durable as they once were, so anything that improves this must be good.
This also includes increasing recycling, and in this context promoting the recycling of buildings must be encouraged considering that the alternative maybe complete demolition and constructing a new building in its place, which is the least sustainable approach. Amongst other things, the action plan encourages the removal of built-in obsolescence. These two issues are related to each other.
There is nothing stopping anyone in many circumstances from demolishing a building. And yet see all the carbon it took to create it, wasted, and also resulting in the dumping of waste. As regards components in buildings, some of these currently may not be worth recycling if their quality in the first place is too poor.
Circular Economy Principles for Buildings Design
One conclusion from the above is that when we design and construct buildings there should be an emphasis on their overall sustainability. This should not just focus on a sustainability rating, but making sure that adaptability is built into them. This ensures that, if the intended or current use becomes obsolete, then the building can easily be adapted to a new use. At the very least, the elements and component parts of the building can be dismantled and re-used wth the potential to save 50-75% embodied carbon.
Sustainability should also mean making sure that a building has a long lifespan, and this should not just concern its overall construction, but also its component parts and materials. It goes without saying that the materials and components comprised in the construction of a building, should produce the lowest amounts of carbon possible.
However, this must be balanced with what can be achieved in the overall life of the building, in terms of its lifespan and efficiency in use, which of course concerns its operational carbon. Unfortunately, many buildings do not meet these criteria. This is why our Introduction to the Retrofit of Buildings course provides essential knowledge on adapting buildings for climate change mitigation.
Climate Considerations in Building and Urban Design
There are many examples to illustrate that modern construction often does not consider the climate in which they are constructed. When we look at examples of older buildings, we can often observe that their design and construction has taken due account of the environment in which they exist. For example, in hotter climates, buildings which are close to each other can provide good solar shading and their thick masonry walls provide thermal mass that will aid their decrement delay. All such issues help to keep them cool without the aid of air conditioning.
Building Lifespan
There are also many examples to illustrate, that older buildings are more adaptable, more sustainable and can have a much longer lifespan than a modern building. For example, Edwards Hart Consultants have been involved with the refurbishment and conservation of the Hop Exchange in central London, a listed building located in the shadow of the Shard, the UK’s tallest building.
The building is about 160 years old, and this is a project that involves a lot of repurposing and extending the footprint of the building as well as its height. It will sustain the building physically and economically to the end of its life. Compare this with the Shard, which was completed in 2013 and took over 1,370 tons of carbon to produce, with an estimated lifespan which is much less. In a previous edition of its Wikipedia page this was said to be 60 years!
Sustainable Building Design
Understanding the merits of achieving a circular economy in construction, should mean an understanding of how to design and construct buildings which are more sustainable. However, this will take many compromises on what the norm in the construction and design of buildings is currently.
When we consider how to make existing buildings fit for the future, in terms of dealing with the impacts of climate change, and also improving their energy performance, sustainability issues must be taken into account. If they are not considered, then they will simply not be sustainable.
Rethinking Demolition
Thus far, we may conclude from this that modern buildings are more likely to belong to the linear economy, whilst older buildings may have some chance of belonging to the circular economy. However, the proportion of the economy that is circular is very small, in all UK home nations.
Take demolition as an example. This is a very common activity, despite circular economy policies and research indicating that demolition and replacement with new buildings is the least carbon efficient approach. If we take two examples:
Cardiff’s Redundant Offices
In Cardiff, the local authority obtained large, high-rise redundant offices from the UK government, and instead of retaining them, they decided to demolish them. We can criticise this activity, but it’s mirrored almost everywhere, concerning buildings that can be improved and adapted.
This is a very carbon inefficient approach, in that the carbon produced in its original construction is now gone to waste, but also consider the dumping of the materials from the demolition into land fill or in the very least as hardcore. Plus, the new materials necessary to construct new buildings in their place in terms of the carbon it will take and the contribution it makes to the earth’s scarce resources.
London’s Westbury Hotel
The alternative approach can be seen at the Westbury Hotel in Mayfair, London. Here, a refurbishment and retrofit project is reported to have saved more than 2,000 tonnes of demolition waste and 3,700 tonnes of carbon. Think what could have been saved in Cardiff!
Circular Economy Legislation and Training
Any society or governments that promote the circular economy have to be applauded. However, most certainly, where construction and property are concerned, laws, regulations and standards must also reflect what is needed to bring about a circular economy.
A circular economy is not an economy that involves a cycle of correcting mistake after mistake. A common example of this is installing cavity wall insulation and then removing it once you find out that it isn’t suitable for the building in which it was installed.
The only way that a circular economy can work in a sustainable way is if we are genuinely competent in all the activities that are pertinent at all stages of a building’s lifespan. That means we need truly competent people at all those stages. Even if the necessary laws and standards were put in place, unless we’ve got competent, well-informed individuals and organisations on board at every stage of the life cycle, we are at risk of not achieving what a circular economy can deliver.
Retrofit and Sustainable Design
There is a lot of emphasis on the retrofit of buildings, and indeed there is a lot of retrofit taking place. This is a good step forward as even renovating a Victorian building versus demolishing and rebuilding can save around 500 tonnes of carbon.
However, most of the insulation materials being used are not recycled materials but those that have high embodied carbon. Most of these materials are also not recyclable, and most will be difficult to deal with at the end of their useful life. Again, it is evidenced that despite circular economy policies, many of these issues have not been placed into laws and regulations that are then applied to the treatment of existing buildings.
In this context, there seems to be a lack of knowledge about what sustainability really means when it comes to retrofitting buildings. Edwards Hart Consultants provide advice on these issues, and all the training courses offered by the Environment Study Centre have a focus on sustainability. This means that they alert those attending the courses about the pitfalls of using some of the most commonly used insulation materials. Furthermore, the eBook on the ‘Retrofit of Traditional Buildings’ published by the Environment Study Centre explains these issues, and it also covers the circular economy in its introduction.
One of the major challenges within construction, is in the treatment of traditional buildings. Whilst across the UK they comprise approximately a quarter of our building stock, they are treated as a niche. This has brought about the deployment of inappropriate treatment, which has most certainly brought about technically unsound retrofit.
We hope this article has given you a useful background as to why sustainable building design needs the circular economy, both covering the construction of new buildings and the retrofit of existing ones.
What sets the Environment Study Centre apart from others offering training in the retrofit of traditional buildings, is that our tutors are genuine experts. For more information on our training courses for the retrofit of traditional buildings, take a look at our building retrofit courses or contact us here.
