Abstract
With increasing urbanisation, new approaches such as the Circular Economy (CE) are needed to reduce resource consumption. In Switzerland, Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste accounts for the largest portion of waste (84%). Beyond limiting the depletion of primary resources, implementing recycling strategies for C&D waste (such as using recycled aggregates to produce recycled concrete (RC)), can also decrease the amount of landfilled C&D waste. The use of RC still faces adoption barriers. In this research, we examined the factors driving the adoption of recycled products for a CE in the C&D sector by focusing on RC for structural applications. We developed a behavioural framework to understand the determinants of architects’ decisions to recommend RC. We collected and analysed survey data from 727 respondents. The analyses focused on architects’ a priori beliefs about RC, behavioural factors affecting their recommendations of RC, and project-specific contextual factors that might play a role in the recommendation of RC. Our results show that the factors that mainly facilitate the recommendation of RC by architects are: a senior position, a high level of RC knowledge and of the Minergie label, beliefs about the reduced environmental impact of RC, as well as favourable prescriptive social norms expressed by clients and other architects. We emphasise the importance of a holistic theoretical framework in approaching decision-making processes related to the adoption of innovation, and the importance of the agency of each involved actor for a transition towards a circular construction sector.
Highlights
With around 50% of its population living in cities [1], the world is becoming increasingly urban
The results showed the importance of knowledge about the Minergie label, and the architects’ visual knowledge regarding the recommendation of recycled concrete (RC)
Regarding the need for knowledge sharing, our results suggested which specific topics should be the focus of educational interventions: the material itself, the Minergie label, and the possibility for architects to view the material in person, evaluating its physical appearance
Summary
With around 50% of its population living in cities [1], the world is becoming increasingly urban. While cities produce 80% of worldwide GDP, they consume 75% of worldwide resources and produce 80% of global CO2 emissions [2]. A transition towards urban sustainability is crucial [3,4]. To reduce resource consumption in cities, the Circular Economy (CE) has been proposed as a key concept as it focuses on using resources more efficiently through value retention processes and the minimisation of the amount of waste produced [5]. The European Commission [9,10] adopted an action plan to enhance global competitiveness, stimulate sustainable economic growth, and generate new jobs.
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