The transition of construction project organisations towards a Circular Economy, by implementing Product-Service Systems

Abstract

The built environment has a huge contribution to the total CO2 and waste production, due to their linear approach of “take, make & dispose”. A shift in construction is needed towards the circular economy to close material loops, decrease and eventually stop the depletion of the earth’s resources. The construction project organisation could be an important vehicle for this transition. The construction project organisation is made up of all actors who, together, realise a project. The outcome of a project is the result of the collaborations, interactions and partner networks within a construction project organisation. Organising these interactions in another way could result in a more effective approach towards the circular economy. The demand for circular projects is increasing and despite this increase in demand, the construction project organisations still approach new types of projects in a linear way. Governments are speeding up this process, by creating regulations, incentives, and deadlines for all industries. The built environment has to change their way of working to commit to these new standards in the future. Product-service systems is a concept which could contribute to this transition in the built environment and reduce the depletion of resources. Consumers will pay for project-use and the producer will maintain ownership which stimulates sustainability. To accomplish this in the built environment and increase project value, construction project organisations have to change their traditional structures and develop new partner networks. The following research question will address this problem: How can construction project organisations change towards the Circular Economy and add value by implementing Product-Service Systems? The purpose of this research is to fill the gap between theory and practice. This is done by restructuring the stakeholder network of a construction project organisation, to meet the circular demand, by implementing the concept of product-service systems. The aim is to get a better understanding of the current state of construction project organisations and how they could implement product-service systems more effectively.