Keywords

1 Introduction

Worldwide, the Construction Sector (CS) has been following a linear production and consumption model—based on a “take/make/dispose” approach—with the main focus on the economic dimension [1]. When considering the European built environment, the CS is responsible for approximately 50% of natural raw material consumption, 30% of the waste generated, and 30% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [2]. This inefficient approach continues to contribute to the depletion of non-renewable virgin resources, the generation of GHG emissions and waste, and the loss of biodiversity, colliding with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) [3].

The transition to a circular CS is imperative to overcome these burdens and contribute to waste and pollution elimination, avoid raw material depletion, and nature regeneration goals [4]. However, the resistance to change, the CS complexity (e.g., long life span, different materials, and numerous stakeholders), and the lack of productivity associated with the resistance to adopting digitization (proven to boost productivity and efficiency [5]), are significant barriers to the transition to a Circular Economy (CE)—based on a “return/(re)make/(re)use” approach [6,7,8]. This context led the European Commission to draw policies and regulations framing CE objectives and goals to support this paradigm shift [9,10,11,12], after being translated by different stakeholders (mainly industry leaders and policymakers) in each member-state. The growing literature focuses on the barriers and opportunities for CE adoption in the CS [8, 13, 14], and policies and regulations framing CE objectives through the slowing, narrowing, and closing of material and energy loops. However, these studies [7, 15,16,17,18] present a broad scope, simultaneously presenting distinct realities (countries) and neglecting each country's specificities: stakeholder needs, industry leaders, and policymakers.

Focusing on Portugal, this study reviews the EU and Portuguese policies and regulations and identifies the perceived barriers and opportunities. Considering the CS, three main objectives were recognized: (i) mapping and relating the main policies and regulations for adopting a CE in the EU and Portugal; (ii) identifying the barriers and opportunities; and (iii) discussing possible strategies to overcome the barriers to CE adoption. As a result, this study aims to provide an integrated understanding of the main causes of the unsuccessful transition to CE in the CS, namely between the existing policies and regulations and the identified barriers and opportunities. The paper is organized into four sections: Sects. 23.1, 23.2, 23.3 and 23.4.

2 Research Methodology

2.1 Research Strategy

This research strategy includes two complementary approaches: (i) documental research to identify the circular economy (CE) main policies and regulations published by the EU and Portugal; (ii) working sessions with Portuguese construction industry stakeholders to recognize policy and regulation barriers and opportunities in CE adoption.

First, the document research categorized and characterized the policies and regulations published by the EU and their influence on the Portuguese context. To draw the regulatory framework, the websites of European and Portuguese organs responsible for policies and regulations were mapped to evaluatethe adoption of a CE.

Afterwards, the working sessions with the main stakeholders allowed to identify, prioritise, and categorise the critical barriers and opportunities felt by Portuguese stakeholders in the Construction Sector (CS) in the CE adoption within policies and regulations. This research strategy was based on design thinking and discussion sessions in which all stakeholders were represented, as discussed in Tavares and Pedroso [19].

2.2 Data Collection

Data collection was undertaken between January 2021 and November 2022, considering only the CE documents influencing the CS. The document research started by querying the following sources: European Commission Environment [20], EUR-Lex [21], Journal of the Republic (Diário da República) [22], Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) [23] and the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC) [24] using the following keywords (also in Portuguese), isolated or combined with synonyms and acronyms: ‘Circular Economy’, ‘barriers’, ‘opportunities’, ‘Construction and Demolition Waste’, ‘Green Public Procurement’, ‘resources’, ‘Sustainable Development Goals’, ‘sustainable’, and ‘decarbonization’. Although the EU showed concerns about raw materials depletion for many years, the document “Towards a circular economy” [25] was only published in 2014 with the clear objective of adopting CE across the EU and economic sectors. Therefore, 2014 was considered the most relevant starting point.

The sessions, further discussed by Tavares and Pedroso [19], were possible due to the project that funded the execution of the “Portuguese Action Plan for Circularity in the Construction Sector” [26]. These eleven sessions took place between January 2021 and November 2022, allowing to: (i) identify barriers, (ii) prioritize those barriers and (iii) identify opportunities. Altogether, the sessions [27] involved more than 800 Portuguese individuals connected to the CS, with the following distribution: Academia and research centres (10%), Contractors and builders (16%), Demolition and CDW management teams (3%), Manufacturers (6%), Government and regulators (14%), Investors, developers, and insurance providers (4%), Designers (17%), Users and owners (30%).

2.3 Data Analysis

During documental research, relevant data were extracted from each document into an Excel matrix, including the document name, type, publication date, sectorial scope, and a summary of its objectives and goals. This information was analysed, and documents were removed when redundant, old (before 2014), or had limited influence on the CS.

The identified barriers and opportunities were then divided and organized according to priorities into different pillars, following the methodology presented by Tavares and Pedroso [19] and others [8, 28]. This paper focuses on Policies and Regulations.

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Policies and Regulations Linked to CE in the EU and Portugal

The EU Framework

Table 23.1 presents the results obtained for the EU document search in terms of the main policies and regulations regarding the adoption of circular economy (CE) with a focus on the construction sector (CS), since 2014.

Table 23.1 Policies and regulations on CE in the EU (since 2014)
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Although CE started to be more relevant in 2014, most CE-related documents were published in 2020, due to the publication of “The European Green Deal” in 2019, considered to be the document which started this transition.

After “The European Green Deal”, several aspects were addressed through different instruments such as green financing (e.g., EU Taxonomy) and major policies (e.g., Renovation wave and NEB) promoting the adoption of sustainability and CE goals in the CS. The most recent documents promote the CS twin transition (green and digital) aiming at increasing productivity, efficiency, decarbonization and circularity of the built environment, as in the “Circular Economy—Principles for buildings design” [12]. The growing number of documents published in the last four years shows the importance of CE adoption. When clustered, these documents follow four main topics: Resource and Waste Management (RWM), Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Circular Economy (CE), and Green Public Procurement (GPP).

The Portuguese Framework

Table 23.2 presents Policies and regulations on CE in Portugal (since 2016). Although Portugal showed concerns towards sustainability since 2006 with Decree-Law 178/2006 (revoked by Decree-Law 102-D/2020) on waste management, only from 2016 (as in the EU was from 2014) appeared policies towards embracing CE principles, showing Portugal as an early adopter. Most documents were published or revised since 2019, showing the EU’s influence on national policies and regulations. Although the “Action Plan for CE” was published in 2017 [29], already identifying specific CE measures towards the CS, the “Portuguese Action Plan for Circularity in the Construction Sector” [26] was only published at the end of 2022. As in the EU, Portuguese documents on CE can be divided into the same four scopes: RWM, SDG, CE, and GPP.

Table 23.2 Policies and regulations on CE in Portugal (since 2016)
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The “Material specifications”, developed by the Portuguese National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, supports designers and other stakeholders in choosing materials (reused, recycled, etc.) and proposes tests (ideally non-destructive) to ensure their performance. However, these documents need to be revised (last publication in 2016). Additionally, the construction-specific legislation needs to be renewed to include reused and recycled materials, and aspects such as disassembly, adaptability, and flexibility.

3.2 Political and Regulatory Barriers and Opportunities in Portugal

Although numerous studies have identified CE barriers and opportunities in the CS, the ones identified in this study (Table 23.3) were obtained directly from different Portuguese stakeholders during the previously described sessions.

Table 23.3 Political and regulatory barriers/opportunities identified by Portuguese stakeholders
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Since the economic driver in Portugal is crucial [30], a significant number of barriers are related to the lack of financial incentives and the need to create financial policies that promote and recognize sustainability (e.g. LCA and LCC methodologies) and CE efforts in both projects and companies. GPP can promote case studies, showing stakeholders the benefits of the transition to a CE, without compulsory measures.

Other barriers and opportunities are centred on documentation harmonization and interconnection, as well as policies, legislation, and regulations simplification with streamlined access. The definition of certain degrees of obligation and the need to make processes and procedures faster and more efficient (due to harmonization) were identified, with the twin transition being of significant relevance in this aspect.

3.3 Discussion and Implications

Policies and regulations mapping (in EU and Portugal) shows that since 2019, there is a rising concern regarding decarbonization and the adoption of a CE in the CS (e.g., by the document “Circular Economy—Principles for buildings design” [12]). Several EU documents have been published and influenced Portuguese policies and regulations, with Portugal being able to keep up with the most recent objectives. Nonetheless, Portugal can follow other countries’ examples (e.g., The Netherlands) to move forward in terms of CE in the CS, since the existing political and regulatory documents seem to lack clarity and assertiveness to the Portuguese stakeholders.

As described in Sect. 3.1, the EU and Portuguese policies and regulations intended to push this paradigm shift (linear to circular economy) can be divided into four large groups based on their scopes and descriptions: Resource and Waste Management (RWM), Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Green Public Procurement (GPP), and Circular Economy (CE). This demonstrates the importance of articulation within each document macro-group. GPP can promote and finance case studies. RWM documents can support resources/waste identification and classification, which will support CE principles and procedures and how SDG objectives can be reached.

Barriers and opportunities identified by the Portuguese stakeholders were analysed, and aggregated into four groups: (i) development of policies and regulations properly integrated, thus supporting the transition through finance, case studies using GPP, and other mechanisms; (ii) new and innovative digital tools and platforms that allow, for example, to collect large amounts of data and convert it into information, thus supporting the twin transition (green and digital) and the conversion of residues into resources; (iii) education and capacitation of the different stakeholders, supporting clarity and empowering them to surpass new challenges and promote their resilience; and (iv) governance model that supports the paradigm shift across the society, based on a continuous flux of information and discussion between the government and the stakeholders, for policies and regulations adapted to the needs identified on the terrain.

The recently published “Portuguese Action Plan for Circularity in the Construction Sector” [26] can be an effective starting point to ignite and accelerate the transition, as this document is expected to help the government and other stakeholders to have a more holistic view of the barriers and opportunities specific to the CS and of the reality.

4 Conclusions

This study investigated and identified policies and regulations in the EU and Portugal for the Construction sector (CS) and presented the barriers and opportunities identified by Portuguese stakeholders for those policies and regulations. It employed a systematic document review procedure to search, retrieve, evaluate, and extract relevant data from various sources and consultation sessions with stakeholders.

The analysis revealed a growing number of policies and regulations in the EU and Portugal, mainly from 2019. These documents can also be divided into four main areas of interest for the transition to a Circular Economy (CE): Resource and Waste Management (RWM), Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Green Public Procurement (GPP), and dedicated to CE. The study also identifies four main barriers and opportunities related to policies and regulations found in Portugal: (i) development of policies and regulations; (ii) new and innovative digital tools and platforms; (iii) education and capacitation; and (iv) governance model adequate to needs. The study then discussed the possible interactions between the documents and barriers and opportunities, showing that the chain reaction mechanisms leading to a CE tend to fail since policies and regulations lag the needs identified in the field by stakeholders. However, the current Portuguese strategy, with a recently published sectorial Action Plan and where all stakeholders took part, can be an important tool to identify the most significant measures to take. This type of strategic document is relevant for any EU member that wishes to embrace a CE in the CS. Despite fulfilling the objectives, the study has some recognized limitations and uncertainties, such as: different countries can show different policies and barriers due to their own realities; a more even distribution of the participating stakeholders, can influence the identified barriers; and the national policies can significantly influence the perceived barriers by the stakeholders.

In this research it was identified further research, such as gathering workgroups with similar contributions from different stakeholder groups, as well as applying a similar research approach to other countries.