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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the Swedish construction industry with regard to the fact that the Construction and Real Estate sector today accounts for one third of Sweden's waste and one fifth of greenhouse gas emissions. The aim was also to inform new ways of reducing these emissions through circular construction (CC) where the study focuses on examining the effects of circular construction, the meaning of CC and how to promote circular construction in the construction sector through different working methods. The aim of the study was to inform on this way of working for actors in the industry who today do not work according to the circular principles, and further provide more knowledge on the subject. Method: The study is conducted as a qualitative case study and is mainly based on semi-structured interviews and literature studies in the form of document studies obtained from various databases. To achieve a result, various actors in the construction industry who are familiar with the subject of circular economy have been asked to participate for an interview. The interviews were used in this study as primary data as it was the experiences and perceptions of the different actors on which the study is based, the document studies were used as secondary data to find out whether there were similarities from previous studies or not. Findings: The results showed that actors in the construction industry have a relatively common view of circular construction. For most people, the meaning is to reuse and reuse materials as widely as possible. Through recycling matrices and action plans, the development towards a more circular construction industry has begun. The results also showed effects on CC in the form of less carbon dioxide emissions and that it may be more profitable in the future to work in a circular manner. Furthermore, the results also showed effects such as ignorance of the subject, lack of cooperation and that the transition from linear to circular construction is a long and difficult process. Implications: Conclusions that can be drawn from the study is that today it is more costly to reuse than to buy new material and that new strategies are therefore required. Likewise, the construction industry must begin to see the opportunities that exist in recycled materials that will make it possible for new types of work. Further recommendations are to investigate why more customers do not demand to work more circularly, and to carry out studies that show which materials are easier to reuse. Limitations: The study was chosen to be limited to actors who are familiar with circular construction in order to reduce its scope, however, more actors who do not work in this way could have contributed with more perspectives on the subject. The study was delimited geographically by focusing on Sweden and Swedish companies in order to be able to produce a generalized picture of the Swedish construction industry. Afterwards it has been realized that other countries have come further in the transition from linear to circular construction. Keywords: Design for deconstruction, linear economy, circular economy, circular construction, reuse, recycling, material waste. |
