transparency and create joint value

These general strategies can be used to derive the

Box 1 - Alignment with four specific building design strategies described in
Dutch Government 3.2.2.
transition agenda for circular
construction 3.2 Defenition of a circular building
The agenda for the transition to a circular
In 2016, the Dutch government initiated the Circular built environment in The Netherlands, called
Economy programme, aimed at developing a fully the Transition Agenda (see Box 1), uses a
circular economy in the Netherlands by 2050. broad definition that includes buildings and
As part of this programme, five sector specific infrastructure. The definition used for the
transition agenda’s have been published, including purpose of this project is a modified version of
the construction sector. this definition, with a specific focus on circular
buildings. A circular building can be defined as:
The definition of circular building in the transition
agenda is given as: “the development, use and A building that is developed, used and
reuse of buildings, area’s and infrastructure, without reused without unnecessary resource
avoidable depletion of natural resources, pollution depletion, environmental pollution and
of the environment or negatively impacting ecosystem degradation. It is constructed in an
ecosystems. Construction which is economically economically responsible way and contributes
responsible and contributes to wellbeing of humans
and animals, now and in the future”. Throughout
the agenda there is a strong emphasis on the
necessity of a uniform, accessible and reliable
measuring instrument to assess circularity and
with which the added value of circular buildings
can be measured and clearly communicated. In
addition, the transition to a circular economy calls
for the development of supply and demand for
circular products and processes and for market
mechanisms which facilitate this. In the period
between 2018 – 2021 new policy, regulations and
laws relating to circularity will be developed,
introduced and enforced from a national to a
regional scale. The government has announced
the gradual transition from measures that aim
to voluntarily stimulate circular development
to compulsory measures for circularity such as
minimum standards.

The criteria of circularity proposed for inclusion in

BREEAM align both with the definition of circular
building and with the main aims that are set out
throughout the transition agenda. Inclusion of
circular criteria works towards better measurement
and communication. Material accounting increases
the ease of recovery and reuse of materials and as
a consequence increases value and demand. And
inclusion would precede new laws and regulations,
meaning that buildings assessed using the
BREEAM standard are well equipped for the future.

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