Circular Economy – What you need to know

Adhering to the new Greater London Authority (GLA) requirement for Circular Economy Statements is going to be much more than tick box a exercise. Over time it will require developers and design teams to fundamentally change the way they design buildings, encouraging innovative and long term thinking about the buildings they are designing.

Three separate reports are required through the design and construction process, each one more detailed than the last. They must include project specific key commitments in line with the three circular economy principles; conserve resources, design to eliminate waste and managing waste. Some of our recent recommendations are set out below:

• Use of structural steel with a 25% – 30% recycled content, UK average is currently 20%;
• Specify at least 10 products that have Environmental Product Declarations;
• Designing a building to be de-constructed and the production of a deconstruction manual to illustrate which components might be reused, recycled or repurposed and how the building could be disassembled.
• At least 30% of the building is to be designed and constructed via off site manufacturer;
• Overall project target <3.2 ton/m² GIFA of non-hazardous construction waste.

Whilst the specific commitments for each project differ, its now important to consider circular economy from the outset.