A new strategic framework has been developed through a collaboration with the Dutch Green Building Society (DGBC), Metabolic, SGS Search and Circle Economy that defines circular buildings. It describes indicators that could be included in the sustainable certificate BREEAM-NL to better evaluate circular buildings. The frameworks are detailed in the report ‘A Framework for Circular Buildings: Indicators for possible inclusion in BREEAM’.
“Scaling is what we need right now to make the built environment circular. This report presents an overview of practical strategies to construct and design circular buildings around the world. Incorporating just one of these strategies in a leading sustainable building standard like BREEAM represents a massive opportunity to future-proof our built environment."
Ben Kubbinga, Lead Built Environment Program Circle Economy
Presentation during Expo RealThe first copy of the new report was presented to Shamir Ghumra, director of BREEAM on 9 October 2018 during the real-estate trade fair Expo Real in Munich. The report includes a framework for defining circular buildings and concepts for developing measurable indicators. The essential indicators that define a building’s circularity were developed by an expert group with six indicators developed in more detail. The indicators will be field-tested in follow-on studies.
Steven Traast (SGS Search), Edwin van Noort (DGBC), Clemens Brenninkmeijer (Redevco), Annemarie van Doorn (DGBC) presenting the report to Shamir Ghumra (BREEAM) during Expo RealCooperationThe author organisations, supported by the Redevco Foundation, investigated how circularity can be incorporated in the urban environment using BREEAM-NL, which is a sustainability certificate for buildings that has been widely adopted by the market since its introduction in The Netherlands in 2010. Over nine million square meters of real-estate have been certified to BREEAM-NL standards. The certificate has a holistic approach to sustainability and includes many concepts which can be used for circular buildings.Exceptional developmentShamir Ghumra, director of BREEAM: “Material resource efficiency and circularity lie at the heart of much of the research carried out by BRE over the years, work that continues today with leading roles in projects such as the BAMB (Building as Material Banks) project. It is great to see the DGBC, as our BREEAM National Scheme Operator in the Netherlands, proactively researching issues such as this and thereby contributing to the ongoing evolution of BREEAM with this report.”Edwin van Noort, development manager at DGBC, calls the framework an exceptional advancement: “Over the years, many definitions have been proposed for sustainable buildings, but practical definitions hardly ever materialised. That has now changed.”Clemens Brenninkmeijer, board member at Redevco Foundation says, “Redevco Foundation supports initiatives that aim to increase the understanding of and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable, low carbon-emission and circular built environment. We are very happy with the outcome of this research project and the proposed incorporation of these measures within the existing BREEAM-NL framework – and hopefully the BREEAM International framework too. It will encourage even more parties to think about tangible measures to make our real-estate sector more resource-efficient, less wasteful and more competitive.”[cta link="https://www.circle-economy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/A-Framework-For-Circular-Buildings-BREEAM-report-20181007-1.pdf"]Download the full report[/cta]
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It’s no secret that the apparel industry has a problem with plastic waste. The challenge of maintaining quality across various aspects of the textile value chain has meant that historically, disposable plastic packaging has remained a necessary evil. A 2014 internal case study reviewing Patagonia’s use of polybags found they were, “critical to ensuring that garments stay clean from the finished goods factory through to the distribution centre.” Eliminating these bags would result in significant financial and environmental costs through the damage done by exposing garments to dirt and moisture.While Patagonia tested various alternatives, such as paper mailers, none were able to offer the same level of protection that polybags could. Until recently, solutions had centred on reducing the size and amount of disposable plastic used in the delivery of clothes. Now though, with the growing availability of reusable packaging systems to a mass market of retailers, plastic waste is becoming an unnecessary, potentially absent, part of the delivery process.One of the leading systems available to retailers in Northern Europe is RePack, whose sleek yellow pouches can be used up to 20 times, coming in a range of sizes to fit the garment being delivered. Consumers can return them hassle-free using the postal return sticker included in the original package.
“My name is RePack. Thanks for checking me out! The special thing about me is that I am a 100 % reusable package. Not to brag, but I can easily be used at least 20 times.”
For this study we spoke to brands utilizing RePack for e-commerce sales, as well as end users, to find out how a reusable packaging system changes the retailer-consumer relationship. Aligning with many organisations’ circular strategy, reusable packaging allows them to engage with consumers in the most circular way possible. Mud Jeans listed this as a key advantage, having a delivery system in keeping with the wider values of an environmentally conscious brand. With many retailers signing up to sustainable goals recently, such as the GFA’s 2020 commitments, the practical difficulties of fulfilling those pledges are becoming increasingly evident. While the desire from brands to improve their systems is clear, the ‘how’ of implementing change has often been lacking. Systems like RePack are one piece of the puzzle that will allow brands to fulfil their sustainability KPIs.Currently working with Makia and Pure Waste, brands that cater specifically to a sustainably savvy consumer, RePack is offered as the only delivery option. This allows both brands to achieve their waste reduction goals, and interact with their consumers in a new way. For those consumers, engaging with circularity comes in a very practical way. After opening the package, they're instructed how to fold the Repack back up and use the sticker provided to send the bright envelope back on its way. When asked if RePack improved the online shopping experience (on a scale of 1-5), respondents gave an average response of 4.6 to the RePack research team.
RePack also positively incentivises both brands' consumers to return the packaging by offering a reward or voucher to be claimed at partner stores also using RePack. The voucher entices consumers to tryout other brands within the RePack community, creating a collective of loyal customers around brands that use the system. RePack’s own data suggests that up to 60% of the vouchers are claimed, with each RePack delivery creating future return customers, indicating clear opportunity for growth.This incentivisation scheme has been used differently with individual brands, where the brand itself encourages the use of RePack by allowing consumers to opt for the environmentally friendly packaging option. Circle economy’s own end consumer research suggests a prevailing preference for multiple use packaging already exists. One happy customer told us, “If I had any influence on the shipping methods of companies I would have them all use Repack.” (End user research)While RePack's relevance in reusable packaging for e-commerce is an apparent case, what makes the system unique to circularity is its ability to engage consumers directly in a take-back scheme. Brands are able to offer an end of life service for their products, while integrating circular strategies and educating the consumer at the same time. This kind of grassroots circularity has the power to inspire a wide consumer base to turn their own used clothes into another’s treasure.The recent product take back and material upcycling partnership with Finlayson accomplished this. In February 2017, Repack helped collect 11 tonnes of worn denim from Finlayson's customers which was then upcycled into towels and sold again in their retail stores and online. Before RePack, take back campaigns tended to remain exclusive to the offline environment, limiting participation to geographical or other constraints. At the time of writing Finlayson and RePack have run three take back campaigns for different textiles in the online environment and more consumers have been opting to have their products shipped in RePack with every campaign.
It’s clear that reusable packaging systems have the potential to remove a key obstacle in the movement towards a circular clothing industry, that of plastic packaging waste. The development of reusable delivery systems thus accelerates that movement by providing brands with a practical solution to the challenges of meeting sustainability targets. Systems like RePack allow participation in these developments by both brands and consumers. As the community continues to grow, RePack has the potential to expand consumer loyalty amongst brands. A unified movement of brands and consumer towards the circular economy? Sounds like a plan. Find out more here.
AMSTERDAM, 26 July 2018 – Experts bundle their knowledge to tackle challenges in the construction sector to finance circular construction. The Community of Practice 'Financing Circular Construction’ will provide a practical roadmap to design and create a viable and financeable circular residential housing project in Amsterdam.A circular building is designed in a way that it can be entirely disassembled and individual components can be readily repaired, reused or repurposed. In the construction and use phase, resources are optimally used and the use of raw or toxic materials is minimised.
Community of Practice (CoP)The working group format Community of Practice (CoP) is an initiative of NederlandCirculair! and emphasises the importance of a collaborative approach, connecting relevant industry stakeholders. The Circular Construction CoP follows the 2017 Circular Phone CoP, where accountants, legal and financial experts created several practical, open-source tools that support entrepreneurs in their ambition to realise service-based business models.
After the successful Circular Phone CoP last year, we are happy to have, once again, gathered such an impressive group of experts that will help overcome legal, financial and valuation barriers for the construction industry. We are very optimistic that we will be able to create practical tools that accelerate a circular built environment.- Fieke de Haan, Lead Finance Program Circle Economy
Focus on construction sector; participation Eigen HaardCircle Economy's Circularity Gap Report states that the built environment is the largest consumer of raw materials, using 42.4 billion tonnes annually. This is 40% of our total annual resource use. Social Housing corporation Eigen Haard is aware of the impact of the built environment on the environment. Circularity in constructing and maintenance is one of its long-term goals.
At Eigen Haard we have recently defined our circular ambitions. This CoP offers an ideal opportunity to source and apply expert knowledge to one of our residential housing projects and accelerate our circular ambitions.- Jeffrey Hirs, Projectcontroller Eigen Haard
A new model for the construction sectorThe CoP aims to develop new, circular business models that accelerate the transition to a circular construction sector. To do so, the sector has to evaluate aspects like design, material choice, and possibilities of maintenance and reuse. Circular strategies force the industry stakeholders to redesign the way they work together, change cash flows and risk evaluation mechanisms. Questions that will be tackled during the CoP focus on harvesting, circular design, new perspectives on ownership, legal constructions and the valuation and financing of buildings. The outcomes and practical tools following the project will be published in an open source whitepaper.The 'Financing Circular Construction’ CoP takes place from June until October 2018, is co-funded by NederlandCirculair! and brings together ING, Allen & Overy, Eigen Haard, The Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants, Alfa Accountants and Advisors, RICS, Madaster, Arcadis, Arup, Sustainable Finance Lab, DOOR Architecten and Circle Economy.
For more information about the CoP Financing Circular Construction, contact us:
Aglaia Fischer: aglaia@circle-economy.com
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