Sustainability and Circular Economy Horizon Scan and Needs Analysis

The construction industry plays a crucial role in addressing the climate crisis as it is the largest global consumer of raw materials and contributes significantly to global energy consumption and emissions. Considering the world’s continuous population growth and the imperative to address infrastructure and housing demands the construction sector needs to adopt further sustainable strategies in its activities to reduce the pressure on natural resources. In addition, the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector is responsible for generating substantial amount of waste known as Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW), which is projected to increase due to the future construction developments. The aim of this report was to conduct a horizon scan and needs analysis for the synergies between built environment digitalisation and circular economy. To that end, a systematic literature review on the current frameworks for digitalisation for adoption of circular economy in the built environment was conducted. In addition, current gaps, relevant technologies and EU circular economy case studies and projects in the construction sector were identified.