How a city is built can have a massive impact on environment and climate change effects. The topic of built environment is key in the framework of a circular transition. Adopting circular solutions and strategies on built environment can produce benefits in terms of reduction of GHGs emissions, land use, energy consumption and even on the level of happiness of citizens.

 This topic within the ACR+ Thematic area is strictly related to sectors such as urban planning and design, architecture, referring to buildings, public spaces and infrastructures, and, in general, construction and demolition value chains. Public authorities can play a key role in promoting and supporting circularity in the built environment by implementing policies and actions that:

• Make secondary materials competitively priced through green taxes
• Promote standardisation of secondary raw materials at national level
• Facilitate selective demolition, renovation, retrofitting, and materials’ reuse
• Support research on and implementation of circular construction solutions (such as Nature Based Solutions) 

Work in progress

ACR+ is currently working on this area through:

• Inertwaste: an Interreg Europe project that aims to valorise inert waste from industrial and construction processes and extend their life cycle. The project is based on the exchange of European regional experiences and the discussion of ideas for resolving current policy challenges. ACR+ is involved in the project as a partner under the lead of its member the Navarre region.

Have a look at

Interested in the topic? You can have a look at the following resources:

• Pilot Actions of the ProCirc project: a project that demonstrates circular procurement opportunities in the construction sector, with a focus on different types of buildings such as temporary structures, reused office buildings, social housing, public administration office buildings.
• Sustainable construction guidelines for public authorities: a document that provides guidance on how to encourage circularity and material resources efficiency in the construction sector. The guidelines focus on circularity instead of covering only energy efficiency extensively, and go beyond waste to integrate the whole value chain of the construction sector.

Relevant projects and initiatives

If you want to get involved with our work on the Thematic Area or you have any questions please contact Serena Lisai (Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.).