Developing an integrative method and design guidelines for achieving systemic circularity in the construction industry

The practical realization of circular economy (CE) requires a thorough consideration of the key principles of CE which should be integrated to achieve systemic circularity. Content analysis of existing literature of CE applications in the construction industry (CI) revealed that none of the drivers, indicators, and methods of eco-efficient and eco-effective principles of CE could alone lead the CI towards systemic circularity and sustainable development. The challenges and potential solutions of integrating the drivers, indicators and methods of both principles were studied and gauge against the key-value propositions of CE. As a result, guidelines for designing for systemic circularity along the four building blocks of CE were proposed for the CI. Also, considering the key performance indicators, methods and impact categories of both principles, a novel life cycle assessment-cradle-to-cradle-predictive building systemic circularity indicator (LCA-C2C–PBSCI) was suggested to enhance the assessment of impact potentials and recovery potentials of buildings along product lifecycles. This study makes a distinctive contribution to knowledge as it does not only propose guidelines to enhance the reusability and value retainability of products designed for systemic circularity, but also suggest a novel method for CE evaluation which seeks to enlarge the system boundaries of assessments to understanding the implications of production systems decisions across the environmental, technical, social, and economic dimensions. The practical application of the guidelines and the novel method of this study have been presented, but it would require experts’ judgement and real case examples to enhance it reproducibility and validity.