A New Framework for Circular Refurbishment of Buildings to Operationalize Circular Economy Policies

The current policies aimed at promoting the decarbonization of existing buildings under the principles of the circular economy are in need of practical measures tailored to local conditions to increase their effectiveness. The lack of standard practices for assessing buildings' refurbishment strategies toward energy efficiency and CE principles reflects this reality. To tackle this issue, a new framework for refurbishing circular buildings, is proposed in this paper, based on circular procurement and incorporating a lifecycle perspective. This framework articulates a dialogue between local authorities and private stakeholders through a set of steps that encompass building mapping, selective disassembly, (re)design, and (re)build practices, providing opportunities to implement policy-based incentives. The application of the framework within the Portuguese context demonstrates the potential to identify critical moments within the refurbishment process that can materialize in a new set of CE policy actions to be implemented at the building level. These policies are aligned with local construction permitting procedures and take advantage of the resources and incentives offered by the local administration, such as tax incentives.

Automated summary

The current policies for decarbonizing existing buildings through the circular economy principles need practical measures tailored to local conditions for increased effectiveness. The lack of standard practices for assessing buildings' refurbishment strategies towards energy efficiency and circular economy principles is a challenge. To address this issue, this paper proposes a new framework for refurbishing circular buildings based on circular procurement and a lifecycle perspective. The framework fosters dialogue between local authorities and private stakeholders and incorporates building mapping, selective disassembly, (re)design, and (re)build practices, providing opportunities for policy-based incentives. Applying the framework in Portugal demonstrates its potential in identifying critical moments in the refurbishment process to implement new circular economy policy actions at the building level, aligning with local construction permitting procedures and utilizing resources and incentives offered by the local administration, such as tax incentives.