Built Environment
Driving a Sustainable Built Environment
The built environment fulfills human needs by providing us with the spaces and infrastructure essential for living, working, recreation, and travel. At the same time the energy, materials, and carbon emissions produced during the construction and use of the built environment contribute significantly to environmental impact.
To address this, our team assists urban professionals — architects, planners, construction firms, and developers — in reshaping the built environment to alleviate climate impact, conserve resources, and foster sustainable innovation. Through reimagined design and holistic sustainability principles in construction and urban planning, we pioneer a path toward a more sustainable future.
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Recognizing the need for solutions that will help the industry reduce carbon emissions, the Circular Buildings Coalition (CBC) aims to accelerate the adoption of circular economy strategies in the European built environment.
Building according to circular principles creates value for businesses while reducing environmental impact. Led by Metabolic and supported by the Laudes Foundation, the CBC published a report identifying ways to ensure compliance with forthcoming EU regulations, unlock business value, and turn waste into valuable resources
How we work towards a sustainable built environment
Our expertise lies in urban mining, portfolio analysis, and sustainable building design principles. We prioritize long-term implementation projects, guiding visions from conception to the realization of sustainable construction projects.
Sustainable Building & Area Design
Collaborating with architects, designers, construction companies, and engineers, our Built Environment team designs state-of-the-art sustainable buildings and area developments. We specialize in assessing environmental impact through data analysis, formulating innovative visions, and proposing strategic interventions. Our focus spans both construction and project use phases, looking at both the impact embedded in the project and the impact generated through its lifetime. We offer tailored, sustainable solutions with a focus on integral design excellence.
Portfolio Impact Scan
By analyzing existing or prospective portfolios, our team provides insight into your organization's embedded environmental impact. These insights inform the creation of clear, actionable targets related to the actual impact of a portfolio. We also analyze Scope 1, 2, and/or 3 emissions — both upstream and downstream — for your organization, serving as a foundational step in aligning with CSRD requirements or establishing science-based targets.
Urban Mining Scan
Utilizing our Urban Mining Scan, we analyze existing material stocks and forecast the expected material flows from construction and demolition activities. This analysis outlines the environmental impact, value, and potential for reusing different material streams. Understanding the inflow and outflow of construction materials aids policymakers in developing strategies for achieving a circular construction sector.
Low-carbon transition pathways and policy scenarios
To transition to a low-carbon construction sector, we analyze long-term supply and demand trends at both the national and regional levels. This analysis provides policymakers with scenarios and insights needed to plan and implement the transition. We present the actual and potential impact, geographical implications, and steps to implement this strategy within planetary boundaries.
Capacity building and organizational change
Transforming the way cities are planned and developed requires a change in how city governments, developers, and financiers work. We equip you with the tools, insights, and knowledge required for this new way of working, facilitating the transition in organizational practices for your teams and operations.
Team
Harmen Heida
Ivan Thung
Job Salm
Josine Lambert
Liesbeth Sträter
Merlijn Blok
Reinout Haisma
Tenesha Caton
Toni Kuhlmann
Valerie Gies
Projects
Het Nieuwe Normaal: A complete framework for circular construction
Impact scan for timber construction in Europe
Sustainability masterplan for Sample in Amsterdam North
Materiaalvraag: The environmental impact of residential construction in the Netherlands
City of Amsterdam: Circular building tendering for sustainable innovation
Circular Amersfoort: Urban mining potential in the built environment
News
Development of new Cities’ Science-Based Targets for Nature launched at COP28
Circular Buildings Coalition paves the way for a circular transition in the European built environment
From polluted shipyards to a green district: 10 years of circularity in Amsterdam Noord
The Circular Toolbox delivers resources on sustainability in the built environment
Rethinking concrete to build more sustainable cities
How the right data supports a circular built environment
connect with us
Specialized in guiding visions from conception to implementation, Gerard and his team support cities, regions, and urban professionals in the transition towards a circular and inclusive future.
