Importance of a value assessment tool in regenerating a circular built environment in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Attribute to the rapid expansion of the built environment, excessive resource consumption and waste generation aligned with the corresponding linear economy practices have impacted the preservation of the ecosphere. In addressing the shortcomings of the linear economy, the circular economy concept was introduced by prioritising the circular value streams of the resources which minimises resource extraction and waste generation. However, environmental concerns are often disregarded in construction processes where the priority is given to the cost and economic return of construction applications. Simultaneously, the absence of a proper methodology in assessing the economic aspects of circular economy principles is apparent in the built environment sector. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the importance of a proper value assessment tool in shifting to a circular built environment in Sri Lanka. Instigating from a literature survey, the existing knowledge on the study area was synthesised. A qualitative approach was followed in the empirical study where semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten experts in the field of circular economy in Sri Lanka. The manual content analysis technique was followed in analysing the collected qualitative data. The findings revealed that the extremely low maturity of circular economy practices in the Sri Lankan construction sector is mainly caused by the absence of a proper value assessment tool. Therefore, the introduction of a proper value assessment tool is important for circular built environment experts to encourage the fellow construction community towards the transition to a circular built environment in Sri Lanka.