Prof. Arnold Tukker
Arnold Tukker is Professor of Industrial Ecology and, until recently, Scientific Director of the Institute of Environmental Sciences at Leiden University. He retains a small position at the Dutch not-for-profit research organization TNO. Arnold set up 15 million Euro in EU projects in which the world’s most ambitious and detailed global energy/resource/economic input-output database (EXIOBASE) was built. He led an EU Marie Curie Innovative Training Network of 15 PhDs researching the circular economy (Circ€uit) and was appointed as a member of the European Academy of Sciences in 2018. He is recognised by the Web of Science group as a highly referenced researcher- his work in the field of sustainable business models is among the highest cited globally.
Circular construction key recommendations
In terms of mass, construction materials and construction and demolition waste make up the largest part of humankind’s material and waste footprints, particularly after an energy transition has largely phased out fossil energy. A circular economy cannot be realized without a circular build environment. But circular use of building and construction materials is fraught with challenges, though.
First, what we can use as secondary materials is dictated by what has been built decades ago, and historically buildings have not been built using circular principles. Second, even in countries with high Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) recovery, waste management is still not fit for high-value recycling or reuse. Third, in most countries, the built environment is still expanding, requiring more primary raw materials.
The talk will discuss these challenges, and then discuss the options to make the build environment circular and reduce impacts by keeping materials in closed loops via lifetime extension, more intensive use, re-use, repair and refurbishing, and material recycling and recovery, where the ‘inner circles’ usually are the best from an environmental perspective.
Registration
Please use the following link to register for the webinar.
https://lnu-se.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_v820GC9YT7Gt00geTFn3Sw