The document discusses the business case and benefits of adopting a circular economy in the built environment, highlighting significant resource efficiency opportunities. It mentions the predicted increase in materials demand and the impact of extraction on energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The document also emphasizes the importance of customer benefits, supply chain collaboration, and innovative business models that support a circular economy.

1. Why do circular economy? What’s the business
case – the benefits and opportunities for the built
environment?
Dr Mike Pitts
Head of Urban Living & Built Environment
07920 210844
mike.pitts@innovateuk.gov.uk
@pittso
#CEThinking

2. Gumdrop

3. History of Metals Production
0
160
320
480
640
800
960
1845 1860 1875 1890 1905 1920 1935 1950 1965 1980 1995 2010
AnnualProduction:Cu,Au,Pb,Ni,FeOre,Diamonds,Bauxite
0
840
1,680
2,520
3,360
4,200
5,040
AnnualProduction:MnOre,Ag,Zn
Copper (kt Cu)
Gold (t Au)
Lead (kt Pb)
Nickel (kt Ni)
Iron Ore (Mt)
Diamonds (Mcarats)
Bauxite (Mt)
Manganese (kt Mn ore)
Silver (t Ag)
Zinc (kt Zn)
??
Mudd, 2009, Sustainability of Mining ...
from work by Tom Graedel

4. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
OreGrades(Cu,Au,Pb,Zn,Ni,Diamonds)
0
600
1,200
1,800
2,400
3,000
3,600
OreGrade(Ag)
Copper (%Cu)
Gold (g/t Au)
Lead (%Pb)
Zinc (%Zn)
Nickel (%Ni)
Diamonds (carats/t)
Uranium (kg/t U3O8)
Silver (g/t Ag)
Gold: 1857 - 50.05; 1858 - 41.23; 1859 - 37.27
Trends in Ore Grades … ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

5. Newman iron ore mine, Pilbara, Australia – Google Earth

6. 170 kg
Cu

7. Source: Grilli and Yang; Pfaffenzeller; World Bank; International Monetary Fund; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development statistics; UN Food
and Agriculture Organization; UN Comtrade; Ellen MacArthur Foundation circular economy team – image from their ‘Towards A Circular Economy ‘report
Extraction is predicted to account for 40% of
the world’s energy use by 2050 [Green Alliance (2011)
Reinventing the Wheel: A circular economy for resource security]

9. Global GHG emissions 44 GtCO2e
energy, process
64%
deforestation,
agriculture,
decay
36%
2006 figures, from Sustainable Materials, J. Allwood

10. Energy/Process GHG emissions 28GtCO2
buildings
31%
industry
35%
other
8%
transport
22%

11. Industrial GHG emissions 10GtCO2
steel
25%
3%
other
44%
cement
19%
4%
plastics
4%
aluminium
paper
Demand for steel is set to rise by
80% between 2010 and 2030 [BBC]

12. Raw Materials Manufacture
Design
Distribution Use End-of-Life
repair
reuse
remanufacture
recycle
reduce
or
replace
Resource Efficiency & the Circular Economy

13. What’s Important?
• Delivering customer benefits in new ways
(shift to services)
• Getting stuff back (and separating it out)
• Supply chain collaboration (new value
networks) and the aligned business models
to make it work!

14. Example plot of floor showing U/R and section weight.
Muiris C. Moynihan, and Julian M. Allwood Proc. R. Soc. A 2014;470:20140170
©2014 by The Royal Society
36% of a building's beam mass could be removed with
no loss in safety or service
ReducePrice & Myers

15. Reduce
1st Planner

16. Replace
ModCell

17. Repair

18. Orangebox
Remanufacture

19. Flute Office
Remanufacture

20. E S Global
Reuse

21. E S Global
ASBP
Reuse

22. “… and then,” continued Mr Silly, “Miss Bolt gave me a spade. A spade!
Why in the world would I want to buy a spade when all I wanted was a
hole!”
“Hee hee … that’s … ha ha … ridiculous!” laughed Mr Nonsense.
“what’s for pudding?”
That evening Mr Silly invited his friend Mr Nonsense for supper and told
him all about his day in Sensibleland.
Mr Nonsense laughed so hard he fell off his chair!

23. Services
• World’s largest taxi company owns no taxis (Uber)
• Largest accommodation provider owns no real
estate (Airbnb)
• World’s most valuable retailer has no inventory
(Alibaba)
• World’s largest movie house owns no cinemas
(Netflix)
• Largest software vendors don’t write the apps
(Apple & Google)

24. Amey

25. Building Information Modelling
 Delivering customer
benefits in new ways
(shift to services)
 Getting stuff back (and
separating it out)
 Supply chain
collaboration (new
value networks) and the
aligned business models
to make it work!

27. www.innovateuk.org
@innovate_uk
@pittso
#CEThinking