Circulus company information, Employees & Contact Information

The current economy of extraction, production and disposal is known as take-make-waste. The circular economy is an alternative system, involving a change in operation from industries, governments and individuals to adopt systems which keen materials in use, designing out waste from the whole process. The construction industry is adopting this principle by developing strategies such as product passports, 3D printing and digital platforms. Digital platforms are the focus of this project, as they are the space in which materials exchange occurs and material is given a second, third or fourth lease of life. One of the barriers is that the construction industry has tight profit margins which make adopting new principles and systems high risk. Because of this, logistics and construction are planned up to months in advance. This means that if previously locked in materials become available, or there are excess/waste materials which can be purchased from another company or site, it is extremely difficult to transport them. Connectivity is a keystone of the circular economy, and one which is developing rapidly in this digital age. One way in which consumption can be reduced is through the sharing economy, which can be described as an offshoot of the circular economy. This is a movement away from the consumer culture of ownership and property, towards payment for use. A resource or service is pooled on one platform and customers can pay for access, thereby allowing them to use things which they could not afford to own themselves. Examples of this are Uber, for lift-sharing and easy taxi access; Airbnb, for holiday homes; and Neighbourgood for local sharing of tools and kitchen appliances. As well as enabling pay-per-use access, the sharing economy eases the environmental burden, as pooling a resource under one umbrella company or platform means less of it is needed, less space is consumed and there are lower GHG emissions from extraction and production.