IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i10p7871-d1144627.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Circular Economy Development in the Wood Construction Sector in Finland

Author

Listed:
  • Roope Husgafvel

    (Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, 00076 Espoo, Finland)

  • Daishi Sakaguchi

    (Department of Human Care Engineering, Faculty of Health Science, Nihon Fukushi University, Handa 475-0012, Japan)

Abstract

Circular economy development is about a system level change towards enhanced sustainability and circularity covering both biological and technical cycles. This study aimed at exploring, identifying, analyzing and synthesizing the current state of and future outlook on CE development in the wood construction sector in Finland as perceived by various sectoral companies. This study focused on multiple themes related to the importance of the various aspects of a CE and associated approaches in this particular sector. This study applied a qualitative research approach, and a questionnaire survey was the specific method. The survey was sent to both architectural and construction sector companies. This study addressed a gap in research and contributes to the better understanding of the current state of and future outlook on CE development in the wood construction sector. The results indicate that the CE concept is mostly considered to be an important part of building design and construction. However, some respondents found that this concept is new to them. Interestingly, the cascading use of wood and the assessment and measurement of a CE were not at all familiar to many respondents. Particularly important CE aspects in the wood construction sector include, for example, sustainability and the long life cycles of products, components and materials; co-creation and cooperation covering the whole life cycle of construction and the whole supply chain; training and competence development; and design for a CE, sustainability and long life cycles. Many essential elements of a CE were in use, coming into use or in consideration by many of the sectoral companies.

Suggested Citation

  • Roope Husgafvel & Daishi Sakaguchi, 2023. "Circular Economy Development in the Wood Construction Sector in Finland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-36, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7871-:d:1144627
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/7871/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/7871/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Walter R. Stahel, 2016. "The circular economy," Nature, Nature, vol. 531(7595), pages 435-438, March.
    2. Florian Suter & Bernhard Steubing & Stefanie Hellweg, 2017. "Life Cycle Impacts and Benefits of Wood along the Value Chain: The Case of Switzerland," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(4), pages 874-886, August.
    3. Rannveig Edda Hjaltadóttir & Paula Hild, 2021. "Circular Economy in the building industry European policy and local practices," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(12), pages 2226-2251, December.
    4. Ernesto Antonini & Andrea Boeri & Francesca Giglio, 2020. "Assessing the Circular Potential: Design, Build, Living Reversible," Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management, in: Emergency Driven Innovation, chapter 0, pages 87-152, Springer.
    5. Margherita Pero & Antonella Moretto & Eleonora Bottani & Barbara Bigliardi, 2017. "Environmental Collaboration for Sustainability in the Construction Industry: An Exploratory Study in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-25, January.
    6. Jarre, Matteo & Petit-Boix, Anna & Priefer, Carmen & Meyer, Rolf & Leipold, Sina, 2020. "Transforming the bio-based sector towards a circular economy - What can we learn from wood cascading?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    7. Sathre, Roger & Gustavsson, Leif, 2006. "Energy and carbon balances of wood cascade chains," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 332-355.
    8. Marcel C. Hollander & Conny A. Bakker & Erik Jan Hultink, 2017. "Product Design in a Circular Economy: Development of a Typology of Key Concepts and Terms," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 517-525, June.
    9. Patrick Schroeder & Kartika Anggraeni & Uwe Weber, 2019. "The Relevance of Circular Economy Practices to the Sustainable Development Goals," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(1), pages 77-95, February.
    10. Toppinen, Anne & Röhr, Axel & Pätäri, Satu & Lähtinen, Katja & Toivonen, Ritva, 2018. "The future of wooden multistory construction in the forest bioeconomy – A Delphi study from Finland and Sweden," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 3-10.
    11. Husgafvel, R. & Watkins, G. & Linkosalmi, L. & Dahl, O., 2013. "Review of sustainability management initiatives within Finnish forest products industry companies—Translating Eu level steering into proactive initiatives," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1-11.
    12. Ernesto Antonini & Andrea Boeri & Francesca Giglio, 2020. "Emergency Driven Innovation," Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management, Springer, number 978-3-030-55969-4, December.
    13. Bruno Gagnon & Xavier Tanguay & Ben Amor & Anthony F. Imbrogno, 2022. "Forest Products and Circular Economy Strategies: A Canadian Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, January.
    14. Ernesto Antonini & Andrea Boeri & Francesca Giglio, 2020. "Building Strategies for Circular Economy: New Visions and Knowledge Production for European Research," Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management, in: Emergency Driven Innovation, chapter 0, pages 153-172, Springer.
    15. Leonora Charlotte Malabi Eberhardt & Anne van Stijn & Liv Kristensen Stranddorf & Morten Birkved & Harpa Birgisdottir, 2021. "Environmental Design Guidelines for Circular Building Components: The Case of the Circular Building Structure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-27, May.
    16. Ernesto Antonini & Andrea Boeri & Francesca Giglio, 2020. "Beyond Emergency Towards Circular Design: Building Low Tech," Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management, in: Emergency Driven Innovation, chapter 0, pages 59-86, Springer.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Roope Husgafvel, 2023. "Company Perspectives on Circular Economy Management, Assessment and Reporting in the Kymenlaakso Region in Finland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-23, December.
    2. Zygmunt Stanula & Marek Wieruszewski & Adam Zydroń & Krzysztof Adamowicz, 2023. "Optimizing Forest-Biomass-Distribution Logistics from a Multi-Level Perspective—Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Doris Esenarro & Emerson Porras & Hardy Ventura & Julio Figueroa & Vanessa Raymundo & Lorena Castañeda, 2024. "Use of Digital Tools (Wikihouse System) in Multi-Local Social Housing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-22, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrew Wear, 2023. "Emergent concepts in local economic development," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 38(8), pages 804-826, December.
    2. Dey, Prasanta Kumar & Malesios, Chrysovalantis & Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Saha, Krishnendu & Budhwar, Pawan & De, Debashree, 2022. "Adoption of circular economy practices in small and medium-sized enterprises: Evidence from Europe," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    3. Filip Aggestam & Alexandru Giurca, 2022. "Implementing Circular-Bioeconomy Principles across Two Value Chains of the Wood-Based Sector: A Conceptual Approach," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, November.
    4. Durán-Romero, Gemma & López, Ana M. & Beliaeva, Tatiana & Ferasso, Marcos & Garonne, Christophe & Jones, Paul, 2020. "Bridging the gap between circular economy and climate change mitigation policies through eco-innovations and Quintuple Helix Model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    5. Chembessi Chedrak & Gohoungodji Paulin & Juste Rajaonson, 2023. "“A fine wine, better with age”: Circular economy historical roots and influential publications: A bibliometric analysis using Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS)," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(6), pages 1593-1612, December.
    6. Bas Wouterszoon Jansen & Anne van Stijn & Vincent Gruis & Gerard van Bortel, 2022. "Cooking Up a Circular Kitchen: A Longitudinal Study of Stakeholder Choices in the Development of a Circular Building Component," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-20, November.
    7. Luiz C. Terra dos Santos & Adrielle Frimaio & Biagio F. Giannetti & Feni Agostinho & Gengyuan Liu & Cecilia M. V. B. Almeida, 2023. "Integrating Environmental, Social, and Economic Dimensions to Monitor Sustainability in the G20 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, April.
    8. Maaz Ahmad Khan & Ritika Mahajan, 2025. "Exploring factors influencing circular economy adoption and firm-level practices in the agribusiness sector: an exploratory study of Indian firms," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 9039-9069, April.
    9. Abhinav Katiyar & Vidyadhar V. Gedam, 2025. "The circular economy and fertilizer industry: a systematic review of principal measuring tool," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(6), pages 12437-12475, June.
    10. E. Sardianou & V. Nikou & K. Evangelinos & I. Nikolaou, 2024. "What are the key dimensions that CE emphasizes on? A systematic analysis of circular economy definitions," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 547-562, September.
    11. Katherine Mansilla-Obando & Fabiola Jeldes-Delgado & Nataly Guiñez-Cabrera, 2022. "Circular Economy Strategies with Social Implications: Findings from a Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Anne P. M. Velenturf, 2021. "A Framework and Baseline for the Integration of a Sustainable Circular Economy in Offshore Wind," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-41, September.
    13. Martin Calisto Friant & Walter J. V. Vermeulen & Roberta Salomone, 2024. "Transition to a Sustainable Circular Society: More than Just Resource Efficiency," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 23-42, March.
    14. Naiara Uriarte-Gallastegi & Beñat Landeta-Manzano & German Arana-Landín & Iker Laskurain-Iturbe, 2022. "How Do Technologies Based on Cyber–Physical Systems Affect the Environmental Performance of Products? A Comparative Study of Manufacturers’ and Customers’ Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-26, October.
    15. Fuat Emre Kaya & Antonello Monsù Scolaro, 2023. "Circularity as a Climate Change Mitigation Strategy in the Building Sector: The Stakeholder’s Involvement in the Interconnected Life Cycle Phases," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, May.
    16. Manav Khanna & Natalia Marzia Gusmerotti & Marco Frey, 2022. "The Relevance of the Circular Economy for Climate Change: An Exploration through the Theory of Change Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, March.
    17. Ahmed Chennak & Konstantinos Giannakas & Tala Awada, 2024. "On the Economics of the Transition to a Circular Economy," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 3007-3023, December.
    18. German Arana‐Landin & Waleska Sigüenza & Beñat Landeta‐Manzano & Iker Laskurain‐Iturbe, 2024. "Circular economy: On the road to ISO 59000 family of standards," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1977-2009, May.
    19. Kirchherr, Julian & Piscicelli, Laura & Bour, Ruben & Kostense-Smit, Erica & Muller, Jennifer & Huibrechtse-Truijens, Anne & Hekkert, Marko, 2018. "Barriers to the Circular Economy: Evidence From the European Union (EU)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 264-272.
    20. Sehrish Atif, 2023. "Mapping circular economy principles and servitisation approach in business model canvas: an integrated literature review," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7871-:d:1144627. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.