It started, as many things do, with a blank sheet of paper and a head full of thoughts. I wanted to write down what I was seeing, and not seeing, when it came to national and local policy around the circular economy in the built environment. My aim was not to spark a campaign. It was simply to make sense of the barriers so many of us in the industry kept encountering, day after day, project after project.

But as I spoke with more colleagues (architects, engineers, sustainability consultants, contractors) the stories echoed each other. Professionals were increasingly eager to implement circular practices: reusing materials, extending the life of existing buildings, reducing carbon and waste. But the policy environment did not support them. Clients were on board in principle yet constrained by budgets and left without clear guidance or incentives. Regulations lagged ambition. And the few planning levers that did exist (mostly in London) were patchy, inconsistent, and toothless without enforcement across the building lifecycle.

It quickly became clear: this was not just a professional reflection. It was the seed of something bigger. This had to become a campaign.

That’s how ACAN’s 2025 Circular Economy Policy Campaign was born.

At its heart is a call for policy change, rooted in the lived reality of those trying to build differently. It is a comprehensive roadmap for how the UK can shift from a wasteful, extractive model to one that values resources, longevity, and stewardship. And it is built on the principle that sustainability cannot be left to voluntary action alone. We need systemic transformation; codified, resourced, and enforced.

Circularity Can not Just Be an Option

Right now, circular economy efforts in the built environment tend to stop at the drawing board. Planning policies may nod to reuse or material efficiency, but there is little to no follow-through once projects move into construction, operation, and demolition. The vast majority of buildings are still designed for obsolescence. Material recovery is rare. And each demolition sends untold tonnes of perfectly usable materials to landfill.

The UK construction industry generates over 61% of total national waste[1]. Only between 2-6% of materials are reused, and 13% of all construction materials are sent directly to landfill without being used. Remaining waste is downgraded through recycling, downcycling or incineration. That is not just an environmental disaster; it is a colossal policy failure.

ACAN’s campaign sets out a ten-point action plan to change that, beginning with embedding circular economy principles across the entire regulatory framework. This includes amending existing regulations like Part A of the Building Regulations to require durability and adaptability, ensuring buildings are designed to last, and to evolve. It also means approving and implementing Part Z to introduce mandatory whole-life carbon assessments and enforce circularity targets throughout all project phases.

Planning Reform with Teeth

One of the most practical entry points is the planning system. While some local authorities (notably in London) already require Circular Economy Statements (CES) and Pre-Demolition Audits (PDA) for major schemes, these tools are far from universally applied; and they are rarely enforced beyond planning approval.

ACAN calls for CES and PDA to become mandatory components of planning applications nationwide. These documents cannot just be paperwork exercises. They must be tied to meaningful design decisions, tracked through construction, and reviewed at project completion. Integrating them into Building Control would help ensure that circular principles are not only proposed but delivered.

Moreover, the campaign urges updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to elevate circularity from optional best practice to essential policy. Without this, we will continue to waste materials, energy, and opportunities.

Manufacturers and Markets: Responsibility Must Be Shared

Circular construction is not only about how we design and build, but also about what we make and buy. The campaign draws on the Environment Act to push for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the construction sector. This would require manufacturers to take responsibility for their products across their full lifecycle, incentivising modular design, non-toxic materials, and product take-back schemes.

Imagine a world where a brick, a steel beam, or a facade system came with a passport: a digital record of its properties, its previous life, and its potential for reuse. That world is entirely achievable, but only if manufacturers are required, not merely encouraged, to participate.

To support market transformation, the campaign also proposes tax reductions for developers who use reclaimed materials, the creation of material exchange platforms, and financial mechanisms like green bonds to support circular construction methods.

Infrastructure, Education, and Example

Circularity also demands new infrastructure: national reuse hubs for storing, testing, and reconditioning materials. Without these, even the most reuse-focused teams struggle to source viable alternatives to virgin materials.

And it demands new skills. ACAN is calling for investment in circular economy training, at the university level and throughout professional practice. We cannot just assume knowledge will trickle down. Circular design must become a core competency, not a niche interest.

Public procurement also has a critical role to play. If government-funded projects were required to prioritise circular materials and demonstrate lifecycle cost benefits, it would send a powerful market signal. The state must lead by example, especially when it comes to retrofitting rather than demolishing existing public buildings.

Why This Campaign Matters Now

We are at a tipping point. Climate targets are tightening. Material costs are rising. Clients are asking better questions. And the knowledge to build more sustainably is widely available. What is missing is the policy framework to support it.

Back in November 2024, the UK Government stablished the Circular Economy Taskforce [2], as an independent expert advisory group to support the government in creating a circular economy strategy for England. The ACAN Circular Economy Policy Campaign is addressed to this Circular Economy Taskforce as a guidance of what the construction industry needs to move forward.

Without mandatory regulations and financial incentives, circularity will remain a luxury for the few rather than a standard for all. And yet the benefits (economic, environmental, social) are profound. Longer-lasting buildings. Lower emissions. A thriving reuse market. Skilled jobs in retrofitting, reclamation, and innovation.

It is time to stop treating demolition as default and waste as inevitable. We need to move the industry from demolition to deconstruction. The circular economy offers a compelling alternative. But it will not scale on good intentions alone.

ACAN’s Circular Economy Policy Campaign is not just another policy wishlist. It is a blueprint for structural change. It is the product of hundreds of conversations, frustrations, and shared ambitions. And it is an invitation (for policymakers, professionals, and the public) to demand better from the systems that shape our built environment.

This is a call for action to everyone in the construction industry. If you agree with what we are proposing please sign up your support, we need signatures from every corner of the industry, from experts, individual, designer, companies, manufactures, etc. This will make it clear to the Circular Economy Taskforce what we need from the Government.

This all started with the simple act of writing things down. It turned into something much bigger. Now it’s your turn: read the campaign, support it, and help us push it forward.

Because the future we want will not come by default. It will come by design.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-waste-data/uk-statistics-on-waste

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/circular-economy-taskforc