Ecosystems and Reuse of Building Materials: An Exploratory Study

Absract The implementation of circular economyCircular economy strategies, such as the reuse of building materialsReuse of building materials, represents a valid opportunity for the building and construction sectorBuilding and construction sector to diminish the consumption of raw materials and generate revenues and, thus, to contribute to the Sustainable DevelopmentSustainable developments Goals 11 and 12. However, the reuse of building materialsReuse of building materials is still limited. Previous studies suggest that one reason is the lack of communication and collaborationCollaborations among the actorsActors involved. By using an ecosystemEcosystems perspective, this study focuses on the characteristics of the ecosystemEcosystems of actorsActors involved with reuse of building materialsReuse of building materials. An exploratory research approach was used, which consisted of scientific literature and six semi-structured interviews with actorsActors in the Öresund region. The interviews were conducted to elaborate on the characteristics that best represent this ecosystemEcosystems. The results suggest that these characteristics are (a) complementariness and collaborationCollaborations, (b) capability to evolve, (c) willingness to align to circularity, and (d) platformization. In particular, these characteristics highlight the needs of (1) collaborationCollaborations among the actorsActors already in the early stages of a project, (2) more actorsActors and new roles in the ecosystemEcosystems, (3) awareness of the objectives and values which guides the ecosystemEcosystems, and (4) better knowledgeKnowledge and use of the ecosystemEcosystems platforms.