Circularity in the Built Environment: Maximizing CO2 Abatement and Business Opportunities

The report assesses how transitioning from linear to circular resource loops in the built environment can reduce embodied carbon and create economic value. It focuses on cement, steel, aluminium, plastics, glass, and gypsum, identifying that circularity could abate 0.5 to 0.8 Gt CO2 by 2030 and 3.4 to 4.0 Gt CO2 by 2050, while generating annual net profit gains up to $360 billion by 2050.

• Implementing circularity loops across the built environment could abate between 0.5 and 0.8 gigatonnes of CO2 (Gt CO2) by 2030 and between 3.4 and 4.0 Gt CO2 by 2050. This represents 13% of the sector's embodied carbon emissions in 2030, increasing to nearly 75% by 2050.
• The transition to circularity offers significant economic opportunities, with potential annual net profit gains estimated at $31-46 billion by 2030 and $234-360 billion by 2050, primarily driven by the recirculation of materials and minerals.
• Cement and concrete represent the largest emission source among building materials, contributing 30% of related CO2 emissions. Circular strategies, including mineralization and smart crushed aggregates, could abate 96% of embodied CO2 emissions from cement by 2050 and generate a net value gain of $122 billion by 2050.
• For construction steel, transitioning to electric arc furnace (EAF) production and improving scrap collection could avoid up to 60% of total CO2 emissions by 2050, with a potential value gain of $34-53 billion by that date.
• Aluminium in construction has a low secondary material share of 13%. Increasing this to 50% by 2050 could result in an annual net CO2 decrease of 0.1-0.2 Gt and a net value gain of $16-31 billion.
• Construction plastics currently have recycling rates as low as 17%. By 2050, levers such as increasing regrind plastics, reuse, and alternative fuels could decrease CO2 emissions from plastics by up to 62%.
• Flat glass is currently characterized by low recycling rates (0-1%) and high landfill rates (around 60%). Circularity levers, including increasing cullet use to 60% by 2050 and designing for reuse, could abate up to 41% of CO2 emissions by 2050.
• Gypsum boards have low recycling rates of 1-7%. Circularity through recycling, downcycling into soil amendments, and renewable energy use could abate up to 31% of gypsum emissions by 2050 and create a net value gain of $4-6 billion by 2050.

APA

World Economic Forum (2023). Circularity in the Built Environment: Maximizing CO2 Abatement and Business Opportunities. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Circularity_in_the_Built_Environment_2023.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Circularity in the Built Environment: Maximizing CO2 Abatement and Business Opportunities. 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Circularity_in_the_Built_Environment_2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Circularity in the Built Environment: Maximizing CO2 Abatement and Business Opportunities |date=December 2023 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Circularity_in_the_Built_Environment_2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2023circularity, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Circularity in the Built Environment: Maximizing CO2 Abatement and Business Opportunities}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Circularity_in_the_Built_Environment_2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }