This reading guide is designed to help architects, building companies, real estate developers, material suppliers, policymakers and other stakeholders navigate the wealth of information available on circular principles in the built environment. 

By curating key publications, guides and tools, the Leadership Group on the Circular Built Environment aims to provide a comprehensive starting point for stakeholders to integrate circular practices into their organisations. The guide is structured around key themes, followed by a detailed list of the publications for further reading. 

This guide was presented during the EU Circular Talk on Navigating the Circular Built Environment: presentation of the ECESP Reading Guide.

This report makes a solid business case for building circular, exploring five enabling strategies which showcase how built environment players can unlock robust, long-term value by embracing the circular economy.

Specifically, it examines five different circular strategies, buildings and building components, predominantly from an asset owners’ perspective, and has sought to understand the associated value that these strategies provide.

Value needs to be considered holistically across the supply chain. Understanding the business case for building circular means considering the value - current and future - of all its different elements and layers, and input from all the stakeholders involved.

(The report cannot be downloaded: you will have to read it online.)

This highly theoretical research paper aims to map out ways and means to build a body of knowledge on the process of regeneration and the ways in which regenerative circular economies may function.

Ultimately, it finds that if stakeholders are willing to follow a bio-inspired approach for co-investing resources, time and planning while considering specific system characteristics and the underlying contexts, then small changes in governance, behavioural patterns and technology improvement may contribute substantially to the development of regenerative circular economies.

This article examines open innovation approaches promoting the development of stakeholder-driven circular economy models. 

It describes key elements of open innovation and circular value cocreation,  utilises the findings from a systematic review to identify opportunities and challenges related to the open circular innovation paradigm, and presents theoretical implications and an action plan highlighting the importance of engaging in collaborative behaviour with stakeholders.

It emphasises a cocreation culture that encourages the sharing of resources, competencies and capabilities, while safeguarding organisations' IP. It finds that there is scope for practitioners to develop circular economy ecosystems that increase practitioners' bottom lines, while reducing their environmental impact.