From design to demolition, materials passports to circular revenue models, sustainability is a hot educational topic for people working in the built environment. Finding up-to-date, professional resources in one place is not easy.
The new Circular Toolbox brings together firsthand experience and research from sustainability experts at Metabolic and Copper8. The toolbox contains a series of 10 whitepapers addressing many areas of sustainability in the built environment.
“It’s one place to rule them all where you can read about sustainability and the built environment, from different perspectives,” said Nico Schouten, a green building consultant and the lead of the Built Environment Team at Metabolic.
Available in both Dutch and English, the toolbox was originally commissioned by and created for the municipality of Amsterdam, where thousands of city government employees work in areas around the built environment, area development, and sustainability.
The city, after all, has high ambitions to become more sustainable, including in its own work and how it advises and approves projects. But, there can sometimes be a bit of hassle around anything related to sustainability, especially without clear guidelines. Metabolic and Copper8 combined their knowledge to provide a lay of the land for employees.
“Finally there is a bundling of all circular themes in the built environment where architects, project developers, construction companies, and civil servants can make the transition to circular construction and renovation,” said Desirée Bernhardt, senior policy officer for the circular economy at the city of Amsterdam.
The resources are now available for anyone who is working in the built environment space, and can be used as part of a learning curriculum. For instance, the toolbox can be a starting point for a developer who might want its work to become more sustainable.
“A big part of our consulting team’s work is getting everybody up to speed on sustainability topics,” Schouten said. “This toolbox is that first step, and then we can hit the ground running together.”
