Reuse of building materials—the perspective of Swedish clients

In the context of the circular economy, there is an urgent need for transformation into circular material flows by avoiding waste, reducing extraction of virgin raw materials, and extending product life cycles. Within the construction and real estate industry, the reuse of building materials stands...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Filip Ericsson, Kristina Mjörnell, Ulla Janson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Cleaner Engineering and Technology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790824001289
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846115666784944128
author Filip Ericsson
Kristina Mjörnell
Ulla Janson
author_facet Filip Ericsson
Kristina Mjörnell
Ulla Janson
author_sort Filip Ericsson
collection DOAJ
description In the context of the circular economy, there is an urgent need for transformation into circular material flows by avoiding waste, reducing extraction of virgin raw materials, and extending product life cycles. Within the construction and real estate industry, the reuse of building materials stands out as a critical strategy for value retention. The objective of this paper is to localise the forefront of the practical implementation of reused materials within the Swedish construction and real estate industry. To achieve this, the current state of reuse practices through the perspective of property companies as clients in decision-making positions was conducted through semi-structured interviews to identify key barriers and enablers associated with reuse. The three most significant barriers that emerged were a lack of measurable economic incentives, the absence of a professional reuse market, and obsolete project management. Conversely, the three most significant enablers were new and improved project management methods, enhancing competence and learning within and beyond organisations, and introduce reuse at an early stage. The results emphasise the need for project management to develop and adopt circular economy principles. This is further understood due to responders highlighting the industry's linear approach as a major obstacle to circularity together with uncertainties related to product performance, responsibilities and economics characterising reuse efforts. However, an industry in transition is witnessed, e.g. by the emergence of new roles which suggests a continued need for focused research in organisational matters.
format Article
id doaj-art-60a7d26d83ed4cf88cc08d256ac15bb4
institution Kabale University
issn 2666-7908
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Cleaner Engineering and Technology
spelling doaj-art-60a7d26d83ed4cf88cc08d256ac15bb42024-12-19T11:01:16ZengElsevierCleaner Engineering and Technology2666-79082024-12-0123100848Reuse of building materials—the perspective of Swedish clientsFilip Ericsson0Kristina Mjörnell1Ulla Janson2RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Sven Hultins Plats 5, 412 58, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Building and Environmental Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, Box 118, 221 00, Lund, Sweden; Corresponding author. RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Sven Hultins Plats 5, 412 58, Gothenburg, Sweden.RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Sven Hultins Plats 5, 412 58, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Building and Environmental Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, Box 118, 221 00, Lund, SwedenDepartment of Building and Environmental Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, Box 118, 221 00, Lund, SwedenIn the context of the circular economy, there is an urgent need for transformation into circular material flows by avoiding waste, reducing extraction of virgin raw materials, and extending product life cycles. Within the construction and real estate industry, the reuse of building materials stands out as a critical strategy for value retention. The objective of this paper is to localise the forefront of the practical implementation of reused materials within the Swedish construction and real estate industry. To achieve this, the current state of reuse practices through the perspective of property companies as clients in decision-making positions was conducted through semi-structured interviews to identify key barriers and enablers associated with reuse. The three most significant barriers that emerged were a lack of measurable economic incentives, the absence of a professional reuse market, and obsolete project management. Conversely, the three most significant enablers were new and improved project management methods, enhancing competence and learning within and beyond organisations, and introduce reuse at an early stage. The results emphasise the need for project management to develop and adopt circular economy principles. This is further understood due to responders highlighting the industry's linear approach as a major obstacle to circularity together with uncertainties related to product performance, responsibilities and economics characterising reuse efforts. However, an industry in transition is witnessed, e.g. by the emergence of new roles which suggests a continued need for focused research in organisational matters.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790824001289ReuseClientsConstruction and real estate industryCircular constructionBarriers and enablersGioia method
spellingShingle Filip Ericsson
Kristina Mjörnell
Ulla Janson
Reuse of building materials—the perspective of Swedish clients
Cleaner Engineering and Technology
Reuse
Clients
Construction and real estate industry
Circular construction
Barriers and enablers
Gioia method
title Reuse of building materials—the perspective of Swedish clients
title_full Reuse of building materials—the perspective of Swedish clients
title_fullStr Reuse of building materials—the perspective of Swedish clients
title_full_unstemmed Reuse of building materials—the perspective of Swedish clients
title_short Reuse of building materials—the perspective of Swedish clients
title_sort reuse of building materials the perspective of swedish clients
topic Reuse
Clients
Construction and real estate industry
Circular construction
Barriers and enablers
Gioia method
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790824001289
work_keys_str_mv AT filipericsson reuseofbuildingmaterialstheperspectiveofswedishclients
AT kristinamjornell reuseofbuildingmaterialstheperspectiveofswedishclients
AT ullajanson reuseofbuildingmaterialstheperspectiveofswedishclients