Impacts of circular economy practices on the economy, society and environment: a review in construction context

The adoption of a circular economy (CE) model in the construction industry has been instrumental in increasing sustainability, particularly in contrast to the linear economy model. The economic, social and environmental (ESE) dimensions would be vastly impacted by converting traditional construction practices into CE practices. Understanding the relationships between the aforesaid CE practices in construction projects and their respective impacts on ESE is fundamental to successfully shifting towards a circular construction industry. Studies that shed light on this area are limited. Thus, this study aims to identify the relationship between CE practices and their respective ESE impacts to facilitate the rational implementation of CE within the construction industry. An integrative review of the literature was carried out to identify the ESE impacts of CE practices and to establish relationships between CE practices and their respective impacts. Based on the study findings, a relationship matrix was developed. The developed matrix demonstrates that the majority of the CE practices impact capital cost, operational cost, employment, environmental pollution and resource consumption aspects in the construction context. This study will assist construction industry stakeholders in identifying the respective impacts that a CE practice can generate on ESE and selecting practices effectively in their projects to obtain maximum ESE value addition.