How building component reuse creates economic value: Identifying value capture determinants from a case study

Abstract

Building component reuse (BCR) is a critical means to reach sustainability goals in the construction industry through decreasing resource consumption, waste generation, and associated emissions. However, little is known about how BCR in circular construction can create economic value and opportunities for value creation and capture. Therefore, a qualitative multiple case study was conducted of two construction projects in Finland in which precast concrete building components were reused. Extensive datasets, combining interview data, observation, and written materials, were gathered to investigate and compare the projects, examine how economic value can be created from reuse for construction value chain actors, and identify the factors that determine value capture potential. The findings show that BCR may create economic value by decreasing costs and material consumption, but also by increasing material performance and creating new circular business models and revenue sources (such as concrete refurbishment and reuse-oriented design). Twenty-one value capture determinants for BCR were identified and classified into five value clusters on the micro, meso, and macro levels. The study expands circular construction research by associating circular value potential with the feasibility aspects of reuse in construction, giving businesses invaluable insights on how to gain economic benefits from concrete BCR.