Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: A Step towards Sustainable Development

Abstract

Construction is a resource-intensive industry where a circular economy (CE) is essential to minimize global impacts and conserve natural resources. A CE achieves long-term sustainability by enabling materials to circulate along the critical supply chains. Accordingly, recent research has proposed a paradigm shift towards CE-based sustainability. However, uncertainties caused by fluctuating raw material prices, scarce materials, increasing demand, consumers’ expectations, lack of proper waste infrastructure, and the use of wrong recycling technologies all lead to complexities in the construction industry (CI). This research paper aims to determine the enablers of a CE for sustainable development in the CI. The system dynamics (SD) approach is utilized for modeling and simulation purposes to address the associated process complexity. First, using content analysis of pertinent literature, ten enablers of a CE for sustainable development in CI were identified. Then, causality among these enablers was identified via interviews and questionnaire surveys, leading to the development of the causal loop diagram (CLD) using systems thinking. The CLD for the 10 shortlisted enablers shows five reinforcing loops and one balancing loop. Furthermore, the CLD was used to develop an SD model with two stocks: “Organizational Incentive Schemes” and “Policy Support.” An additional stock (“Sustainable Development”) was created to determine the combined effect of all stocks. The model was simulated for five years. The findings show that policy support and organizational incentive schemes, among other enablers, are critical in implementing a CE for sustainable development in CI. The outcomes of this study can help CI practitioners to implement a CE in a way that drives innovation, boosts economic growth, and improves competitiveness.

Resilient Capabilities to Tackle Supply Chain Risks: Managing Integration Complexities in Construction Projects

“…A preliminary survey followed the initial survey to take feedback from the field experts of developing countries worldwide. Professionals appointed at various levels in construction projects, including project managers (12), construction managers (11), project directors (7), project/site engineers (10), design team leaders (6), and contract engineers (5) were involved in the survey. The key questions inquired about each respondent's level of understanding of the topic, knowledge about critical SC risks, and the importance of RCs for managing resilience within their respective organizations.…”

“…Similarly, the highly fragmented nature of the construction industry also reduces the organizations' visibility to identify risks that may occur within the SC network. To handle ever-increasing complexities and interdependencies within the SC is challenging for a single entity to assess and control [1,12]. Consequently, to overcome disruptions across the SC, it is important for an entity to carefully explore the dynamics of the effects between its prevailing risks and resilient capabilities (RCs).…”

The System Dynamics of Engineer-to-Order Construction Projects: Past, Present, and Future

“…Liu et al (2022) SD was used to construct and analyse the sub system of comprehensive benefit analysis of prefabricated building. Ghufran et al (2022) Process modeling Lee et al (2006b) proposed several hybrid models that can be used in whole life-cycle simulation. DPM was also applied to study the impact of information technology in the multi-layer system.…”

Circular Economy Supply Chain for Sustainable Development Goals (Sdgs): A Review and Future Opportunities

“…The construction industry is a resource-intensive industry in which CESC plays an important role to conserve natural resources and minimize the usage of raw materials. Accordingly, the circulation of materials based on CESC would become an enabler of long-term sustainability goals (Ghufran et al, 2022).…”