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Lifecycle assessment of a circular economy initiative from the commercial building sector

Lundgren, Rebecka LU and Kyrö, Riikka LU (2024) 30th Annual Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Conference, PRRES 2024
Abstract
The circular economy is a concept which has received increased interest from built environment research and industry in recent years. This study explores two circular business models of adaptive reuse and shared spaces through employing a single-case study of a former factory, refurbished to shared offices and workshops. As circular economy has been criticised for ignoring social sustainability, we engage in three different lifecycle assessments: environmental, profit, and social. The findings show that while the embodied carbon is significantly reduced, it emphasises the role of the operational phase. Findings also indicate the social aspect to be most prominent during the operational phase. The project is deemed economically sustainable.... (More)
The circular economy is a concept which has received increased interest from built environment research and industry in recent years. This study explores two circular business models of adaptive reuse and shared spaces through employing a single-case study of a former factory, refurbished to shared offices and workshops. As circular economy has been criticised for ignoring social sustainability, we engage in three different lifecycle assessments: environmental, profit, and social. The findings show that while the embodied carbon is significantly reduced, it emphasises the role of the operational phase. Findings also indicate the social aspect to be most prominent during the operational phase. The project is deemed economically sustainable. In designing a sustainable built environment, emphasis need to be put towards efficient use of existing buildings, focusing on the operational phase. The findings are particularly useful for professionals involved in refurbishment projects and curious about the sustainability impact of sharing spaces. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
conference name
30th Annual Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Conference, PRRES 2024
conference location
Gold Coast, Australia
conference dates
2024-01-14 - 2024-01-17
project
SHare Optimize REimagine (SHORE) - reframing circular economy for the real estate and construction industry
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2ec0f059-d27d-45f0-81b7-3eff00074e3a
date added to LUP
2026-03-25 08:18:35
date last changed
2026-04-02 11:16:07
@misc{2ec0f059-d27d-45f0-81b7-3eff00074e3a,
  abstract     = {{The circular economy is a concept which has received increased interest from built environment research and industry in recent years. This study explores two circular business models of adaptive reuse and shared spaces through employing a single-case study of a former factory, refurbished to shared offices and workshops. As circular economy has been criticised for ignoring social sustainability, we engage in three different lifecycle assessments: environmental, profit, and social. The findings show that while the embodied carbon is significantly reduced, it emphasises the role of the operational phase. Findings also indicate the social aspect to be most prominent during the operational phase. The project is deemed economically sustainable. In designing a sustainable built environment, emphasis need to be put towards efficient use of existing buildings, focusing on the operational phase. The findings are particularly useful for professionals involved in refurbishment projects and curious about the sustainability impact of sharing spaces.}},
  author       = {{Lundgren, Rebecka and Kyrö, Riikka}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{Lifecycle assessment of a circular economy initiative from the commercial building sector}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}