The transition to a circular economy in the infrastructure sector, where materials are designed to be reused, remanufactured, or recycled, has become a defining imperative. But who is responsible for catalysing the change? Is it government or industry? According to circular economy engineer at Arcadis, Lloyd Parker, significant progress hinges on a collaborative effort between government and industry.
Industry readiness and existing circular economy challenges
As public and private sectors strive to meet ambitious recycled content and circularity targets, the readiness and capability of industry suppliers and contractors to deliver on these goals are under the spotlight.
The push for circular economy principles in design and execution is both promising yet complex. As the demand for recycled materials in construction projects grows, a critical question arises: do suppliers and contractors have the necessary tools, expertise and financial resources to meet this demand?
Sustainability goals across the sector are increasingly focused on using recycled materials and reducing waste. However, many suppliers face barriers that limit their participation in circular projects.
High costs keep innovators on the sidelines
High costs for third-party validations—such as lifecycle assessments (LCAs) and environmental product declarations (EPDs), and most importantly meeting rigorous material specifications—often keep many material suppliers and innovators on the sidelines. Access to resources that enable these suppliers to validate more sustainable products is critical to achieving the scale needed for circularity.
The goal should be to make it easier for suppliers to demonstrate that their products meet the necessary environmental standards, thus enabling them to compete in the market on a more level playing field.
Recycled content
Recycled content seems to dominate the current lexicon of circularity, meanwhile, adaptive design, which focuses on minimising waste and planning for deconstruction, remains underutilised.
As much as we can excel at incorporating waste into our infrastructure and building materials, the industry could benefit from a shift toward minimising waste at the design stage. Reimagining designs to enhance longevity and recyclability—ensuring that components can be deconstructed and repurposed—will ultimately contribute to a more sustainable future.
However, without accessible, affordable validation of these innovations, the circular economy risks becoming an exclusive domain, missing the potential for wide-reaching, inclusive impact. To build and nurture industry capability, it is the government’s role to provide affordable ways for suppliers to assess, validate, and promote their products and designs.
Government’s role
While the private sector plays a crucial role in implementation, government initiatives form the essential backbone of circular economy efforts. Government agencies, must continue to assume the role of market makers, acting as intermediaries to build the business case for change and drive industry-wide adoption.
Programs such as Victoria’s EcologiQ and New South Wales’ Choose Circular have demonstrated how public policy can drive demand for recycled materials by creating supportive frameworks and financial incentives. These initiatives lay the groundwork for industry players to prioritise recycled content and circular practices, fostering a marketplace that rewards sustainable choices.
Yet, public funding and advocacy, though invaluable, cannot single-handedly effect change. For lasting impact, yes, government support must go beyond these frameworks.
We will not achieve a circular economy by continuously asking, “Whose responsibility is it?” Rather, we should ask, “How do we act together?”
Subsidies or grants will help lower the cost of LCA and EPD certifications, thereby facilitating market entry for smaller suppliers and encouraging their participation in circular projects. Such financial assistance would support the entire supply chain, making circular practices viable across a broader range of participants and thereby increasing the impact and reach of sustainability initiatives. However, there is a risk that these initiatives may not fully translate into widespread industry change unless the implementation is dynamic and scalable.
While government policies set the stage, the private sector must take ownership of designing for circularity. Consultants, with their knowledge and expertise, are perhaps best positioned to ensure these efforts lead to tangible outcomes—translating sustainability metrics into actionable design specifications, guiding informed decision-making, and ultimately leading the charge in embedding circular economy principles across the sector.
The business case
Beyond industry readiness, there is also the critical task of building a robust business case for circularity and recycled materials in practice. How do industry players collectively make the case for circularity and win support during the crucial design phase of infrastructure projects?
One key factor is to ensure buy-in towards integration and circular economy principles from the outset. Embedding these principles early in the design phase, whereby designers, architects, engineers and other specialists ensure that circularity metrics are set as a priority from the very beginning rather than being an afterthought.
A significant shift toward circularity can be achieved if design houses and contractors move beyond merely integrating recycled content into infrastructure and begin designing for minimal waste. Industry stakeholders should ask: why aren’t we focusing on deconstruction from the outset?
Adaptive design, which anticipates future disassembly and material reuse, could set a new standard.
A circularity metric
To hold projects accountable to circular economy principles, a circularity metric embedded in design documentation could be transformative. This metric could be based on circularity indicators, drawing from traditional recycled content indicators covered by circular transition indicators (CTI) or the material circularity index (MCI), but could also go further and measure factors like durability, maintainability, deconstructability, and adaptability.
Why aren’t circularity metrics a mandatory part of our design reports, holding projects accountable to sustainability standards from inception? By incorporating these metrics, design firms could provide clients with clear, measurable insights into the circular potential of their projects, encouraging higher standards across the sector and making circularity an essential part of the design process.
Collaboration as key
A truly sustainable and circular infrastructure sector will require collaboration at every level. Going circular is often complex, time-consuming, and costly. It will require a holistic approach to innovation and challenging the status quo while considering not just the immediate environmental impact of material but its entire lifecycle, including production, use, repair/maintenance and end-of-life disposal. To address this, partnerships with both government and private sector leaders are essential. Governments and industry leaders need to recognise the importance of investment and provide the necessary tools to fund innovations that will ensure that circular design and implementation can be carried out effectively. This might involve funding for research and development, facilitating partnerships, or providing incentives for companies to invest in ensuring more sustainable outcomes.
A unified approach to circularity
The truth is, we will not achieve a circular economy by continuously asking, “Whose responsibility is it?” Rather, we should ask, “How do we act together?”
Government policies and funding can provide a foundation, but the private sector must drive innovation by adopting a philosophy of minimal waste. While top-down policies and government support are essential, the real change will come from a bottom-up approach that empowers suppliers and contractors to take ownership and promote their own role in the circular economy.
This means providing them with the tools and resources they need to assess, validate, and promote their products effectively.
Let’s challenge ourselves to create infrastructure that’s not only built to last, but designed to be taken apart and repurposed. The shift from a linear to a circular economy is not just a change in materials but a transformation in mindset. To achieve this, government and industry must meet halfway, creating a future where sustainable infrastructure is not an exception but the rule.
Lloyd Parker is a principal environmental consultant at Arcadis