What is it about?
The paper argues that the current focus on reducing operational energy and emissions is not enough. Increased attention must be given to achieving a resource efficient built environment. Via a literature review and conceptual model, it illustrates how this may be achieved by applying and adapting circular economy principles.
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Why is it important?
Extravagant, resource consuming buildings are often claimed to be 'carbon neutral' and 'green' on the basis of operational energy efficiencies, whilst resource consumption and embodied energy/carbon is overlooked. This may be reduced by extending the life of existing assets, improved management and utilisation of the asset stock, and designing buildings and their components for adaptability and reuse.
Perspectives
Via former roles in architecture, infrastructure, and strategic asset management, my attention was alerted to wasteful and extravagant practices in the building and manufacturing sectors. I have sought to show how applying sufficiency and resource or eco-efficiency principles could enable necessary services to be provided with less resources, less waste, less pollution and less cost.
Dr David Angus Ness
University of South Australia
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Toward a Resource-Efficient Built Environment: A Literature Review and Conceptual Model, Journal of Industrial Ecology, April 2017, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12586.
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