New initiative for a circular built environment

The Circular Buildings Coalition aims to accelerate circularity in the construction industry in Europe.

The coalition aims to address the main challenges to scale action in Europe through system analysis, round tables, advocacy, blueprint projects and regranting support.

The three challenges being addressed are financial mechanisms, markets and supply chains, and ownership models.

The coalition says that the financial sector currently does not prioritise investments in the circular building industry due to a lack of business cases, perceived risks, limited financial incentives, and a lack of instruments to steer investments. The Circular Buildings Coalition (CBC) wants to develop new tools to redirect more funding to circular construction and asset management sectors.

According to the CBC, the market is already rich with barriers to innovators due to extensive regulation, resource costs, and supply chain failure. By connecting the suply with demand at scale, the initative aims to develop new integrated infrastructure, new value chains, lifting technical and design barriers and driving stakeholder mindset.

Another main challenge is a lack of financially sustainable ownership models that align investors, building users, and developers with long-term climate and circularity goals. 

The CBC has been developed by the philanthropic Swiss-based Laudes Foundation, the Amsterdam based group of organisations Metabolic, Amsterdam based global impact organisation the Circle Economy, the World Green Building Council, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the London headquartered construction company Arup.