A call to action based on a standardized framework – WBCSD

But how do we ensure that the world is on the right track and making the right decisions?

We can only manage what we measure

Implementing consistent circularity measurements and adopting a standardized approach provides numerous benefits for businesses, governments and society. Assessing circular economy performance provides organizations with invaluable insights, enabling them to optimize resource use, minimize waste, reduce environmental impact, drive innovation and generate long-term value for stakeholders. At the same time, it fosters the development of resilient and adaptive urban environments for future generations. Circularity measurement enables the entire built environment value chain to measure the circularity levels of buildings owned by companies and used by people, and helps make informed decisions to improve their performance. By integrating circular economy principles, stakeholders can ensure sustainable growth in a world with increasingly limited resources.

To achieve this, it is necessary to establish a uniform language across the industrial, financial and government sectors. This will make it easier to develop strategies, measure circular progress and align them with a set of standard circular metrics.

Circular transition indicators (CTI) for buildings

While companies have made significant efforts to improve circularity in buildings, the full set of metrics that can reliably measure circularity in buildings is still under development and varies significantly depending on geographic and environmental context.

In response to this need, WBCSD initiated a large-scale study in 2022 focused on defining the core elements required to measure circularity in buildings through the use of the Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) framework. Companies around the world have chosen CTI as a starting point because of its simplicity, objectivity, inclusive nature and quantitative rigor, making it applicable to industries of all sizes, at various stages of the value chain and in various geographical locations.

Designed by business for business, CTI offers companies a standardized language that helps them make internal decisions and communicate effectively with key stakeholders. Published under a Creative Commons license and widely available, CTI is an inclusive framework that considers material, water and energy flows, critical raw materials, financial indicators, and climate and nature impacts – establishing a solid foundation for working in the built environment. WBCSD has developed CTI for fashion, chemistry, electronics, and now buildings.

WBCSD has published the results of a study of key elements that need to be considered to achieve circular buildings Measuring circular buildings: key issues white paper. The paper concludes that measuring circularity in the built environment requires defining the scope of both the life cycle stage of buildings and the shear layer of the elements considered, including material, energy and water flows, circularity in design and wider environmental impacts. natural, social and business value.

To maximize the impact of the assessment, it is important to clearly define its scope before the process begins. In general, it is important to collect data at the building layer level (structure and site, envelope, spatial plan, services and social) and cover the entire building life cycle, capturing as much detail as possible. That said, assessing individual layers at specific stages of a building’s lifecycle can also provide significant value, depending on the scope agreed upon by stakeholders at the outset. Following this study, WBCSD members and other stakeholders prioritized the need to create a framework to consolidate all relevant information in one place, applicable to any type of building – new, existing or slated for demolition, residential, commercial or other type. . While various solutions exist in the current market to measure these key factors, they are done separately and often for specific building types. This creates confusion and fragmentation as each solution uses different metrics, indicators, terminology and data collection methodologies, making effective communication and collaboration difficult.

Pavement way: actionable steps to progress

WBCSD, with the support of ARUP and the cooperation of its members and partners, is developing a unified methodology that enables stakeholders to comprehensively measure the circularity of buildings. This methodology will provide a unified approach and terminology, facilitating collaboration and information exchange across the value chain to promote circular economy practices.

The framework will include both quantitative and qualitative data and will enable stakeholders to evaluate their decisions on material selection and reuse, design and their wider economic, social and environmental impact. By providing clear, specific data, stakeholders can visualize the results of their decisions and, if necessary, reconsider them before implementation.

Given the complexity of this endeavor, WBCSD and its partners took a phased approach.

The initial version of the framework will focus primarily on material flow measurement and design, incorporating renewable energy indicators from Circular Transition Indicators v4.0. WBCSD will present this new version in May 2025 at the Global Circular Economy Forum in Brazil. The organization and its partners will continue to research and engage stakeholders on additional key issues in the coming years, depending on market readiness and data availability.

As WBCSD will soon publish CTI for Buildings, material flow measurement will include tracking the inflow and outflow of materials, analyzing their quantity and type (whether they are virgin, reused or recycled), and assessing both potential and actual material recovery

Design measurement, on the other hand, involves assessing the potential for re-using space, improving the use and adaptation of a building, extending its service life and facilitating disassembly and dismantling, as well as assessing material efficiency. Ultimately, this will impact material flows and have an impact on carbon dioxide equivalent (CO) emissions₂e – number of metric tons of CO₂ emissions with the same global warming potential as one metric ton of another greenhouse gas).

These three key levers of circularity, procurement (circular flow), design (potential recovery) and actual recovery combine into a single material circularity outcome, designed to create a key link between material flow and design. This metric measures the efficiency of using materials in a system, particularly in a way that maximizes their value and minimizes waste. This is a core metric in CTI v4.0.

Testing the theory: pilot phase

WBCSD is conducting a pilot phase of this initiative, with support from ARUP and Arcadis, which is expected to be completed in January.

They assess entire buildings or specific layers, with the main goal of assessing whether the methodology effectively covers all critical aspects. Furthermore, it aims to explore how measuring circularity can measurably shape decision-making processes and ultimately contribute to the development of a more sustainable built environment.

Call to action for cooperation in the development of a standard framework

The analysis presented clearly shows that a uniform and consistent approach to measuring sustainability and circularity is needed. Existing methods can vary widely, creating confusion and making it difficult to achieve significant change at scale.

To address this issue, we invite industry leaders, policymakers, researchers and stakeholders across the built environment value chain to join WBCSD in developing CTI for buildings. The aim of this comprehensive and standardized framework is to combine different indicators, improve data collection and offer a clear way to assess circularity across different building types and regions.

A standardized approach will help the industry track progress more effectively, set standards and make smarter decisions that align with long-term sustainability goals. It will also increase transparency and accountability, ensuring that circular economy strategies deliver real value for people, businesses and the environment.

Working together, we can build a strong framework that will both simplify the complexities of the built environment and accelerate our collective journey towards a more sustainable and regenerative future. It’s time to act – let’s work together to create a standardized approach that will lead to measurable, positive change.

If you are interested in cooperation, please contact Alessia Santoro.