Extracted circular initiatives described as interventions proposed throughout the selected case studies
| Case no. | Code* | Description | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Act1.1 | Auditing waste streams and their destinations as well as reporting waste recovery rate | BBP (2015) |
| 2 | Act2.1 | Allowing sufficient time and staff in make good clause to plan and organise loose furniture, re-use, donation and recycling | FTD (2023) |
| Act2.2 | Creating asset inventories in advance by tenants or their representatives | ||
| Act2.3# | Offsite storage provisions in lease contracts to ensure sufficient time for dismantling, reselling, donating and other related activities | ||
| Act2.4# | Regulations/laws that enforce transparency in waste streams and their destinations, requiring recycling transfer stations to provide documentation verifying the actual recycling of goods, not just receipts | ||
| Act2.5# | Evaluate potential value returns from sell-back schemes and components' high residual value | ||
| Act2.6# | Defining revenue comes from landfill diversion at products' EoL in companies' accounting system and educating them | ||
| Act2.7# | Defining non-monetary and social values resulting from donations or social initiatives and recognising them as privileged criteria in tenders or lease contracts | ||
| Act2.8# | Modular carpet tiles allowing for easy reuse in different locations | ||
| Act2.9# | Modular carpet tiles that can be installed without glue, allowing for easy repair and replacement of damaged sections | ||
| 3 | Act3.1 | Allowing sufficient time for contractors to remove and dismantle fit-outs properly, enhancing the potential for re-use, donation and recycling | BBP (2016) |
| Act3.2 | Including requirements in tender documents and clauses in the demolition/strip-out contract that stipulate the contractor must use and comply with the Strip-out Guidelines | ||
| Act3.3 | Targeting a minimum landfill diversion rate for contractors | ||
| Act3.4# | Setting minimum requirements for Marshalling area, especially in commercial buildings | ||
| 4 | Act4.1 | Integrating HVAC systems in RAF to give access to repair and maintain, minimising demolition and reducing waste generation | EMF and Arup (2023) |
| 5 | Act5.1 | Designing and custom ordering all partitions, ceiling and floor coverings in a modular, dismantlable form to accommodate future deconstruction, considering the building's potential removal within the next 20 years due to shifting district boundaries | Arup (2016) |
| Act5.2 | The valuable raw materials and building elements are taken back by their suppliers and manufacturers after use | ||
| 6 | Act6.1 | Using modular movable sliding partitions making the layout more flexible, allowing the space to be adapted for various purposes – from community outreach/teaching to training/general office use – thereby enhancing the building's overall usage efficiency and reducing resource consumption | Arup (2016) |
| 7 | Act7.1 | Producing a kitchen worktop from LWARB's stripped-out glazed partitioning | EMF and Arup (2023) |
| Act7.2 | Making timber flooring to the breakout area from reclaimed woods in another project | ||
| 8 | Act8.1 | Using Rheaply, a reuse platform connecting organisations (companies, social communities) easing reselling, donating and exchanging the resources | EMF and Arup (2023) |
| 9 | Act9.1 | Leasing C2C carpets for 5–7 years, removing carpets at the end of the leasing period, taking back, recycling them into new flooring product through recycling facility by manufacturer | EMF (2016) |
| 10 | Act10.1 | Using a reuse platform connecting corporates to charities and SMEs finding uses for old materials and therefore improving social, economic and environmental impacts | Globechain (2024) |
| 11 | Act11.1 | Leasing and sharing flexible working spaces, through open-plan design, flexible and versatile design, hot desking, increases assets' usage intensity, reducing resource consumptions and waste generation | Hub Australia (2024) |
| 12 | Act12.1 | Developing the FaaS model, a leasing model by supplier/producer, allowing the customers to benefit from using furniture products whilst retains ownership of, and ultimately responsibility for, those assets to supplier/retailer/producer | Living Edge (2024) |
| 13 | Act13.1 | Regulation for city departments specifying requirements for carpet procurements to (1) all carpets would be at least C2C Certified Silver, (2) carpet tiles are to be used for ease of replacement and waste avoidance, (3) carpet fibres and backing materials must contain maximum amounts of recycled materials and ultimately be recyclable at EoU | EMF (2017) |
| 14 | Act14.1 | DfD report in design stage providing information for each product/asset on materials location, disassembly method, how to recovery | Built Australia (2024) |
| 15 | Act15.1 | Design meet and connect spaces, including public areas and meeting rooms, to be easily themed for various corporate and private events, achieved by (1) avoiding the integration of short-term aesthetic trends into long-lasting, costly fit-out elements, (2) creating a timeless foundation allowing for lightweight brand updates and aesthetic alterations | GBCA (2024) |
| 16 | Act16.1 | Retain existing fit-out elements by adaptive design | Charter Hall Group (2024) |
| Act16.2 | Specifying components and systems that are flexible for use by other occupiers in situ or are durable enough to be transported to other locations, e.g. reusing timber from one floor to make flooring for a connecting stairwell | ||
| 17 | Act17.1 | Procuring products with a circular lifecycle guarantee allowing for their taking back and recycling at a nominal ex-factory cost at the EoL | GBCA (2024) |
| Act17.2 | Ensuring suppliers to use responsible materials product by prioritising low-carbon and long-lasting options, easy to disassemble, made from recycled content, locally manufactured, non-hazardous, or certified as eco-friendly as well as materials supporting CE initiatives, such as repair, refurbishment, PaaS and take-back schemes | ||
| Act17.3 | Requiring suppliers to provide detailed product specifications, including sustainability credentials such as EPDs, ecolabels (e.g. GBCA) and C2C certifications | ||
| 18 | Act18.1 | Durra Panels made from compressed wheat and rice straw, an agricultural waste by-product, 100% recyclable and biodegradable | GBCA (2024) |
| Act18.2 | Collaborating closely with the design team to select components that have an established end-of-use market and recovery pathway, ensuring they can be reused, easily disassembled, repaired, remanufactured, or recycled once they reach the EoL | ||
| 19 | Act19.1 | Using the system to attach linings and claddings to the frame with easily reversible fixings allowing for quick and clean modifications, reducing changes waste and mess | Xfram (2024) |
| 20 | Act20.1 | Enforcing requirements for sub-departments within governmental sectors to ensure fit-outs meet criteria: (1) buildings and fit-outs use less materials, minimise waste, can be deconstructed and reused, designed for adaptability and flexibility, (2) durable, repairable, reusable and/or recyclable products, (3) products have been refurbished or existing goods are reused, (4) using products containing recycled content /recycled materials, (5) products are recycled at the EoL, (6) products are returned for resource recovery through a take-back or EoL scheme, (7) products are available for lease, rent or PaaS as an alternative | DCCEEW (2024) |
| 21 | Act21.1 | Using eco-materials for insulation: (1) vegetal made: wood or flax fibre, hemp bricks, expanded cork; (2) animal made: sheep wool; (3) others: loose-filled cellulose, recycled textile or cellular glass | EMF (2016) |
| 22 | Act22.1 | Developing a BIM model for data management incorporating material passports and reversible building design codes to enhance buildings circularity | Durmisevic (2019), Heinrich and Lang (2019) |
| 23 | Act23.1 | Producing modular furniture, such as office chairs, with interchangeable components akin to a Lego model, allowing for easier maintenance and upgrades, maximising the conservation of embedded value in products, components and materials | EMF (2021) |
| Act23.2 | Using FaaS by manufacturer through using (1) QR codes on products, along with a new internal database allowing to continually log, store and track the history of all assets under their ownership; (2) an alternative financing model allowing the business to create a separate financial entity called circular interiors that owns the products. This allows the private furniture company, to free themselves from certain financial constraints, such as the need to generate short-term returns, which can often limit companies from piloting and implementing similar access-over-ownership business models | ||
| Act23.3 | Implementing the FaaS model alongside investment in reverse logistics infrastructure by piloting a facility in a small area to better understand challenges and optimise operations |
| Case no. | Code* | Description | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Act1.1 | Auditing waste streams and their destinations as well as reporting waste recovery rate | |
| 2 | Act2.1 | Allowing sufficient time and staff in make good clause to plan and organise loose furniture, re-use, donation and recycling | |
| Act2.2 | Creating asset inventories in advance by tenants or their representatives | ||
| Offsite storage provisions in lease contracts to ensure sufficient time for dismantling, reselling, donating and other related activities | |||
| Regulations/laws that enforce transparency in waste streams and their destinations, requiring recycling transfer stations to provide documentation verifying the actual recycling of goods, not just receipts | |||
| Evaluate potential value returns from sell-back schemes and components' high residual value | |||
| Defining revenue comes from landfill diversion at products' EoL in companies' accounting system and educating them | |||
| Defining non-monetary and social values resulting from donations or social initiatives and recognising them as privileged criteria in tenders or lease contracts | |||
| Modular carpet tiles allowing for easy reuse in different locations | |||
| Modular carpet tiles that can be installed without glue, allowing for easy repair and replacement of damaged sections | |||
| 3 | Act3.1 | Allowing sufficient time for contractors to remove and dismantle fit-outs properly, enhancing the potential for re-use, donation and recycling | |
| Act3.2 | Including requirements in tender documents and clauses in the demolition/strip-out contract that stipulate the contractor must use and comply with the Strip-out Guidelines | ||
| Act3.3 | Targeting a minimum landfill diversion rate for contractors | ||
| Setting minimum requirements for Marshalling area, especially in commercial buildings | |||
| 4 | Act4.1 | Integrating HVAC systems in RAF to give access to repair and maintain, minimising demolition and reducing waste generation | |
| 5 | Act5.1 | Designing and custom ordering all partitions, ceiling and floor coverings in a modular, dismantlable form to accommodate future deconstruction, considering the building's potential removal within the next 20 years due to shifting district boundaries | |
| Act5.2 | The valuable raw materials and building elements are taken back by their suppliers and manufacturers after use | ||
| 6 | Act6.1 | Using modular movable sliding partitions making the layout more flexible, allowing the space to be adapted for various purposes – from community outreach/teaching to training/general office use – thereby enhancing the building's overall usage efficiency and reducing resource consumption | |
| 7 | Act7.1 | Producing a kitchen worktop from LWARB's stripped-out glazed partitioning | |
| Act7.2 | Making timber flooring to the breakout area from reclaimed woods in another project | ||
| 8 | Act8.1 | Using Rheaply, a reuse platform connecting organisations (companies, social communities) easing reselling, donating and exchanging the resources | |
| 9 | Act9.1 | Leasing C2C carpets for 5–7 years, removing carpets at the end of the leasing period, taking back, recycling them into new flooring product through recycling facility by manufacturer | |
| 10 | Act10.1 | Using a reuse platform connecting corporates to charities and SMEs finding uses for old materials and therefore improving social, economic and environmental impacts | |
| 11 | Act11.1 | Leasing and sharing flexible working spaces, through open-plan design, flexible and versatile design, hot desking, increases assets' usage intensity, reducing resource consumptions and waste generation | |
| 12 | Act12.1 | Developing the FaaS model, a leasing model by supplier/producer, allowing the customers to benefit from using furniture products whilst retains ownership of, and ultimately responsibility for, those assets to supplier/retailer/producer | |
| 13 | Act13.1 | Regulation for city departments specifying requirements for carpet procurements to (1) all carpets would be at least C2C Certified Silver, (2) carpet tiles are to be used for ease of replacement and waste avoidance, (3) carpet fibres and backing materials must contain maximum amounts of recycled materials and ultimately be recyclable at EoU | |
| 14 | Act14.1 | DfD report in design stage providing information for each product/asset on materials location, disassembly method, how to recovery | |
| 15 | Act15.1 | Design meet and connect spaces, including public areas and meeting rooms, to be easily themed for various corporate and private events, achieved by (1) avoiding the integration of short-term aesthetic trends into long-lasting, costly fit-out elements, (2) creating a timeless foundation allowing for lightweight brand updates and aesthetic alterations | |
| 16 | Act16.1 | Retain existing fit-out elements by adaptive design | |
| Act16.2 | Specifying components and systems that are flexible for use by other occupiers | ||
| 17 | Act17.1 | Procuring products with a circular lifecycle guarantee allowing for their taking back and recycling at a nominal ex-factory cost at the EoL | |
| Act17.2 | Ensuring suppliers to use responsible materials product by prioritising low-carbon and long-lasting options, easy to disassemble, made from recycled content, locally manufactured, non-hazardous, or certified as eco-friendly as well as materials supporting CE initiatives, such as repair, refurbishment, PaaS and take-back schemes | ||
| Act17.3 | Requiring suppliers to provide detailed product specifications, including sustainability credentials such as EPDs, ecolabels (e.g. GBCA) and C2C certifications | ||
| 18 | Act18.1 | Durra Panels made from compressed wheat and rice straw, an agricultural waste by-product, 100% recyclable and biodegradable | |
| Act18.2 | Collaborating closely with the design team to select components that have an established end-of-use market and recovery pathway, ensuring they can be reused, easily disassembled, repaired, remanufactured, or recycled once they reach the EoL | ||
| 19 | Act19.1 | Using the system to attach linings and claddings to the frame with easily reversible fixings allowing for quick and clean modifications, reducing changes waste and mess | |
| 20 | Act20.1 | Enforcing requirements for sub-departments within governmental sectors to ensure fit-outs meet criteria: (1) buildings and fit-outs use less materials, minimise waste, can be deconstructed and reused, designed for adaptability and flexibility, (2) durable, repairable, reusable and/or recyclable products, (3) products have been refurbished or existing goods are reused, (4) using products containing recycled content /recycled materials, (5) products are recycled at the EoL, (6) products are returned for resource recovery through a take-back or EoL scheme, (7) products are available for lease, rent or PaaS as an alternative | |
| 21 | Act21.1 | Using eco-materials for insulation: (1) vegetal made: wood or flax fibre, hemp bricks, expanded cork; (2) animal made: sheep wool; (3) others: loose-filled cellulose, recycled textile or cellular glass | |
| 22 | Act22.1 | Developing a BIM model for data management incorporating material passports and reversible building design codes to enhance buildings circularity | |
| 23 | Act23.1 | Producing modular furniture, such as office chairs, with interchangeable components akin to a Lego model, allowing for easier maintenance and upgrades, maximising the conservation of embedded value in products, components and materials | |
| Act23.2 | Using FaaS by manufacturer through using (1) QR codes on products, along with a new internal database allowing to continually log, store and track the history of all assets under their ownership; (2) an alternative financing model allowing the business to create a separate financial entity called circular interiors that owns the products. This allows the private furniture company, to free themselves from certain financial constraints, such as the need to generate short-term returns, which can often limit companies from piloting and implementing similar access-over-ownership business models | ||
| Act23.3 | Implementing the FaaS model alongside investment in reverse logistics infrastructure by piloting a facility in a small area to better understand challenges and optimise operations |
Note(s): * Act i.j = j th circular initiative of i th case study # (italic coded) indicates opportunities that are suggested in the report as potential ways to enhance circularity and have not yet implemented
BIM: Building Information Modelling, C2C: Cradle-to-Cradle DfD: Design for Disassembly, EPD: Environmental Product Declarations, FaaS: Furniture-as-a-Service
GBCA: Green Environmental Council Australia HVAC: Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning PaaS: Product-as-a-Service, QR: Quick Response
RAF: Raised Access Floors SMEs: Small and Medium-sized Enterprise
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