The built environment presents a significant opportunity to shift from a Linear to a Circular approach, contributing to making urban areas more liveable, resilient and sustainable. WSP collaborated with NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change in unleashing the circular potential of the construction industry using a Future Ready™ approach.
A Future Ready built environment
Leading the way in the transition to a circular economy through design choices, the Circular Design Guidelines for the Built Environment has now been released by the NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change. The readily implementable guide will support the achievement of the NSW 2050 Net Zero Targets, as well as an educational tool to promote waste reduction and materials circularity in the built environment.
The guidelines aim to encourage and equip government and industry to adopt smart, innovative and sustainable strategies to:
- minimise the generation of waste
- reduce embodied carbon
- improve materials efficiency
- increase the circularity of materials used in projects
Drawing on an established team of Circular Economy experts
WSP draws upon our local and international expertise where we have successfully delivered several projects with Circular Economy principles at their core.
The guidelines present a whole-of-system approach for implementing circular design strategies throughout all phases of built environment projects and are relevant to building, precinct and infrastructure projects. The proposed circular design approach can be tailored to respond to the needs and characteristics of each project.
Valentina Petrone, WSP’s Circular Economy lead in Australia says, “Adopting Circular Economy principles early on in a project makes it easier to identify and implement viable solutions.”
“Our goal is ultimately to design out waste and improve how we manage resources, how we make and use products and what to do with them afterwards,” says Valentina.
Leading the circular economy conversation
WSP has completed a number of master planning and precincts projects over the past few years, including the Moree Plains Shire Council Special Activation Precinct in regional NSW.
Last year WSP has also developed Circular Economy strategies for two high-profile master planning projects in Melbourne and Sydney. The aim of both projects was to design innovative urban areas leading the integration of circular economy into every aspect of the city's buildings, infrastructure, and operations.
“Applying a holistic approach, we can develop a Circular Economy Strategy that will design out waste, regenerate natural systems, use resources to their highest value and limit waste to landfill by embedding circular economy principles into infrastructure, land use planning, space allocation, precinct and building design,” says Valentina.
“Embedding circular economy principles in projects has the potential to save the public and the private sector money, create jobs, reduce pressure on the environment, improve the security of the supply of raw materials, increase competitiveness, stimulate innovation and boost economic growth,” Valentina concludes.
Download the Circular design guidelines for the built environment.
Find out more on how we’re helping organisations to adopt Circular Economy principles.
