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This report demonstrates the value of a circular economy that is regenerative by design.
The health of our economy relies on the health of nature, but nature has been overexploited and undervalued – and is declining at an unprecedented rate. That needs to change.
A true circular economy is nature-positive by design and offers a pathway to a resilient economy and better outcomes for individuals and society. By harnessing the power of nature and shifting from a resource-intensive model to one that gradually decouples economic activities from the consumption of finite resources, the circular economy can deliver benefits across sectors and help meet climate and biodiversity targets.
This study focuses on Europe’s built environment and explores how a nature-positive circular economy in the sector can unlock a huge economic opportunity for the continent, increasing resilience, competitiveness and the vibrancy of its cities.
The built environment is central to Europe's economic vitality, yet it stands at a critical juncture, requiring immediate and concerted action from all stakeholders. The construction sector accounts for the largest share of the continent's material footprint and over 36% of its total emissions. At the same time a vast number of building and brownfield sites lie unused, contributing to highly inefficient and nature-degrading urban sprawl.
Addressing the built environment waste and inefficiency is vital to meeting Europe's climate and biodiversity goals and to unlock long-term prosperity.
Our analysis presented in this new study shows that the built environment sector's future contribution to the European economy does not have to be a choice between economic growth and nature preservation. By shifting to a nature-positive, circular economy model with a system view, we can achieve mutually reinforcing benefits across the economy, nature and society.
For this report, six circular economy strategies have been selected based on their prominent potential to concurrently drive economic and nature-positive gains, as well as realise wider environmental and social outcomes. These six interventions, identified as mature and scalable, have outsized positive impact and when applied as an integrated system reinforce and multiply the environmental and economic benefits of each other.
Six strategies have been selected for their potential to deliver the biggest positive impact, while reinforcing and strengthening each other. These strategies are grouped under three distinctive ambitions, in line with the EU’s vision of a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy that works in harmony with nature:
Revitalise land and assets to minimise further pressure on nature
Maximise nature in cities to create resilient and vibrant urban landscapes
Optimise building design and material sourcing to capture economic value, reduce waste, and achieve climate targets
Revitalising brownfields presents the opportunity to incorporate locally-attuned nature-positive design that delivers both biodiversity and human health benefits in the urban built environment. While larger, more developed cities like Berlin and London, already focus on brownfield development, there is a huge opportunity to avoid sprawl around small and medium cities, revitalising post-industrial areas, and alleviating pressure on the housing market.
Repurposing land and buildings that are already well-located for infrastructure and mobility links is inherently more space- and resource-efficient compared to business-as-usual and avoids greenfield expansion. This approach fosters compact, multi-use urban centres with a wide range of associated economic benefits.
Increasing nature in cities is proven to improve economic, social, and health outcomes. One of the principal ways of achieving this is through strategically increasing the area of tree coverage in cities.
Another effective way of maximising nature in cities is by adding more areas of water and native vegetation that are well-suited to local conditions throughout the cityscape. The potential for additional green space is even greater if we also include green roofs and walls, which are outside of this analysis but are established and proven concepts.
Increasing the material efficiency of building design can positively impact nature and drive economic benefits by reducing the material and carbon footprint of Europe’s future building and infrastructure construction. Frontrunners in prefabricated and modular construction demonstrate these design and construction practices can be adopted widely.
Low-impact materials, including reused or recycled materials, regeneratively sourced bio-based alternatives, and materials produced using low-carbon manufacturing processes, can be used instead of conventional materials with higher carbon footprints. However, any substitution for bio-based materials, such as timber, requires consideration of the potential impacts on nature, biodiversity, and land use.
See examples of the strategies highlighted in this report in action. There are many real-world case studies to explore.
Public-private partnership unlocks nature-positive revitalisation: HafenCity
Regenerating nature — the foundation of a healthy, vibrant, and resilient city: Vitoria-Gasteiz
Enhancing climate resilience through nature-based solutions: Copenhagen
Material-efficient prefabricated housing solutions: Daiwa House Modular Europe
3D printing in construction: Hyperion Robotics
Flexible and adaptable structures: CREE Buildings
Affordable living through modular construction: Gropyus
Prefabricated modular homes: BoKlok
Brownfield revitalisation - an attractive opportunity for long-term investment: Ginkgo
Using material substitution to reduce and capture carbon: HAUT
Breathing new life into vacant commercial buildings: Novaxia
Collaborating to put nature first: The LENs
Transforming fashion for a nature-positive impact: Gucci
Rethinking the city around nature: Ljubljana
Harnessing blue-infrastructure to meet the climate challenge: Văcărești Nature Park
In Hamburg, the transformation of a former industrial port area stands as a pioneering model of circular and nature-positive urban development. Spanning 157 hectares, HafenCity, the new downtown area on the waterfront, has increased Hamburg's city area by 40% while avoiding green field expansion. The mixed-use, high-density development maximises the adaptive reuse of existing buildings and infrastructure. HafenCity is projected to accommodate 15,000 residents in approximately 8,000 homes, with about 25% being subsidised to promote social diversity. Additionally, the project comprises a university campus for 7,000 students and the creation of up to 45,000 jobs is anticipated.
At the heart of HafenCity's development strategy is an innovative public-private partnership model: HafenCity Hamburg GmbH. This model ensures high standards in urban design while facilitating swift and efficient project execution, avoiding the common pitfalls of public sector delays. Investment for the project was via EUR 10 billion of private funds and EUR 3 billion in public investment, the latter mostly financed through strategic land sales.
HafenCity exemplifies how visionary planning combined with robust cross-sector collaboration can transform dilapidated industrial areas into thriving, low-carbon communities integrated with nature. It provides a replicable model for inclusive, circular urban renewal.
The city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in northern Spain exemplifies the transformative power of urban greening. Named the 2012 European Green Capital and having received the UN's Global Green City award in 2019, Vitoria-Gasteiz has integrated extensive green infrastructure into the urban fabric, designed with accessibility as a priority to encourage active and healthy lifestyles, and boost social interaction.
The expansion of green spaces across the city is underpinned by the Green Urban Infrastructure Strategy, which was launched by the City Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2012. The strategy’s main objectives are to regenerate degraded areas, enhance urban biodiversity, and improve the connectivity and functionality of urban green spaces. These last two objectives refer to the way green spaces are linked together and how well they serve various ecological and social functions. Since the launch of the strategy, the city and its people have planted over 165,000 trees, well over half of its initial target of 250,000, making it the provincial capital with the highest density of green areas per inhabitant.
At the heart of Vitoria-Gasteiz's commitment to nature-positive urban development is a mindset shift which views trees and green spaces not only as added value in terms of aesthetics or biodiversity, but also as a provider of wider co-benefits. These include air temperature regulation, carbon sequestration, stormwater management, and air purification, each contributing to a healthier and more livable space for its citizens.
In July 2011, the city of Copenhagen experienced a 1 in 100 year ‘Cloudburst’ flood, an extreme rainfall event that impacted critical infrastructure in the city, leaving 50,000 homes without heat for a week and causing over EUR 1.6 billion of property damage. The storm produced more than 150 mm of rainfall across the city within two hours, leading to extensive damage across the city, making it Europe’s most expensive natural disaster that year.
The events of that day were a wake-up call for Copenhagen, highlighting the urgent need to bolster the city's resilience against the increasing risk of extreme weather events due to climate change. In response, the city elevated climate adaptation to a top priority and developed a comprehensive Climate Adaptation Plan which prioritises the establishment of continuous green networks and the application of nature-based solutions as a key approach to urban water management for resilience.
To relieve pressure on the traditional sewage system and retain stormwater as a resource, Copenhagen maximised the city’s green areas, extending permeable areas, constructed wetlands, and drainage corridors to absorb and retain run off water after extreme rainfall. This dispersed network of green spaces and waterways created new urban habitats, enhancing biodiversity, improving air/water quality. Analysis also showed surface solutions reduced mitigation costs by over USD 200 million versus conventional piping.
Daiwa Modular House is a Japanese construction company with a strong presence in the Netherlands, renowned for material-efficient prefabricated housing solutions. In 2023, Daiwa opened a new plant in Fürstenwalde, Germany, to meet growing demand for efficient and affordable housing solutions. Daiwa Housing’s European business focuses on addressing social issues such as housing shortages and rising construction costs. The company has delivered a number of projects across Europe including 152 homes in Lelystad, Netherlands and a 106-unit student housing complex in Essen, Germany.
Hyperion Robotics is a Finnish construction technology company that is pioneering the use of robotics and 3D printing in construction. By combining industrial robots, proprietary software, and upcycled materials, Hyperion enables construction companies to produce optimised, low-carbon structures efficiently and with a much faster lead time. The company’s automated 3D printed systems can reduce material use by 75%, and the construction’s carbon emissions by 90%, offering significant cost and time savings.
CREE GMBH is an Austrian start-up that has developed an innovative timber-based prefabrication system to create flexible and adaptable structures. Its patented timber-hybrid system offers numerous benefits, including up to a 50% reduction in embodied emissions and enhanced material efficiency through standardisation and prefabrication. CREE has delivered several flagship projects including the ‘EDGE Suedkreuz’ office building in Berlin (29 m, eight floors) and ‘LCT One’ office in Dornbirn (27 m, eight floors).
Gropyus is an innovative Austrian-German construction technology company based in Vienna and Berlin, focused on providing affordable living through modular construction. With over 300 employees, across six sites in three countries, Gropyus has developed its own prefabricated building platform and end-to-end digital platform to optimise the real estate cycle. Recently they have partnered with automation specialist KUKA, to create an automated manufacturing facility in Richen, Germany, with a planned capacity of 3,500 apartments per year.
BoKlok is a joint venture between construction giant Skanska and furniture retailer IKEA, focused on delivering affordable, material-efficient housing across Europe. BoKlok creates prefabricated modular homes that streamline the construction process, reduce waste, minimise emissions, and significantly cut down on build time. There are already 12,000 BoKlok homes constructed across Sweden, Finland, and Norway, with plans underway to partner with regional housing providers for expansion into other markets, such as the UK.
Brownfield sites offer significant development potential for housing and city revitalisation, whilst limiting urban sprawl. However, repurposing these sites is challenging due to potential contamination.
Ginkgo specialises in the remediation and regeneration of brownfield sites and abandoned built environment assets, including train depots, gas works, and more. Ginkgo is in the process of transforming 110 hectares of ex-industrial land across France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, and The Netherlands into over 1 million m2 of mixed-use central urban developments.
One notable project is a 4.5-hectare plot in Lyon, once the ‘Fagor-Brandt’ factory site, now an ecodistrict with extensive building rights. Already, over 40,000 m2 is developed as housing, featuring 35% green space and 200 trees, with plans for an additional 9,000 m2 of greenery and an urban farm in the commercial sector. Ginkgo’s Lyon project required more than EUR 7 million of initial funding for site remediation.
Ginkgo has demonstrated that revitalising brownfield sites can be very profitable for investors. Already, the project has returned more than three times the equity invested, with an internal rate of return (IRR) of over 20%.
The Netherlands has committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, with Amsterdam pledging to construct at least one in five residential buildings using timber as the primary structural material from 2025. The use of timber can significantly lower embodied emissions in buildings compared to concrete and steel in three principal ways: less energy-intensive production processes, lighter structures, and direct carbon sequestration.
Completed in Amsterdam in 2022, HAUT’s 21 floors positions the development as one of the tallest timber hybrid buildings in the world. The building incorporates 55 apartments, bicycle and underground car parking, and a city garden. By using timber, HAUT achieves a 50% reduction in carbon emissions compared to a conventional building, and the building stores approximately 1,800 tonnes of CO2 when taking into account sequestration.
Beyond emissions reduction, timber-hybrid construction yields a wider set of social and economic benefits. The lighter floor plates enable more efficient truck loading, resulting in fewer deliveries to the building site in the centre of Amsterdam, benefiting surrounding neighbourhoods with quieter and less disruptive construction conditions. Employing off-site/prefabricated construction techniques, construction workers can operate in safer environments.
French cities are grappling with rapid urban growth, leading to a scarcity of housing and an erosion of green spaces. At the same time, commercial buildings are increasingly outdated and underused, a trend sped up by the Covid-19 crisis.
With millions of square metres of commercial space vacant, there is an opportunity to use the space for much-needed housing, while reducing the impact on nature of urban sprawl.
Novaxia is a mission-driven investment company with a particular focus on ‘urban recycling’, converting vacant commercial buildings into low-carbon residential properties and helping reduce urban sprawl. Since its inception, Novaxia has transformed numerous assets across Europe, including a notable Paris project in the 20th arrondissement which converted an art deco office into 37 housing units. Beyond buildings, Novaxia also contributes to the revitalisation of land, converting 100,000 m2 of open land back to nature during the 17 years of its operation.
Across different regions, momentum is rising for office to residential conversions, presenting a solution to Europe's interconnected housing and office vacancy challenge.
The Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs) initiative is a collaborative effort between businesses, landowners, farmers, and other organisations that share interests in a given territory. The aim is to invest in nature-based agricultural approaches to make local landscapes healthier, more productive, and resilient, in line with existing initiatives.
In 2022, Nestlé Purina and Cereal Partners Poland invested in LENs for wheat cultivation in several regions of Poland, with the support of the sustainability consultancy, 3Keel and Preferred by Nature, a global non-profit organisation working to support better land management and business practices.
Through LENs Poland, farmers are provided with resources and expertise to implement infield agronomic practices and farmer innovation investments. In 2023, the LENs Poland community invested EUR 600k in 29 farms covering 2,400 hectares across the region. The expansion of the LENs model across Europe demonstrates that regenerative agriculture practices are not only good for the environment but also for farmers and related businesses.
Luxury fashion brand Gucci has focused on embedding circular economy principles from the design stage and raw material sourcing, including investing in regenerative agriculture, to manufacturing and new business models to extend the life of its products and materials.
A series of commitments underpin Gucci’s progress, such as operationalising its parent company Kering’s science-based target to align with a 1.5°C pathway. For example, the use of 100% renewable energy in its direct operations has resulted in a reduction of over 60,000 tonnes of CO₂ in 2022. Having achieved 99% traceability of its raw materials in 2023, Gucci is also working with farmers to scale up regenerative agriculture across tens of thousands of hectares of land, reviving local supply chains for silk, cotton, and wool, while regenerating nature and capturing carbon.
Gucci has also been transforming its value chain, intending to design out waste and pollution while enhancing durability, reuse, recycling, and second life. Gucci also focuses on minimising the use of virgin natural resources by favouring recycled materials and leveraging upcycling programmes. For example, ‘Gucci-Up’ is a programme for recovering and upcycling leftover and deadstock fabric and leather from manufacturing. Between 2018 and 2023, 1,148 tonnes of leather manufacturing leftovers, 1,537 tonnes of leftover textiles, and 331 tonnes of metal scraps were recovered. Materials not reused in their supply chain are either returned to the marketplace or donated to NGOs and social cooperatives in Italy.
Like many cities across Europe, Ljubljana became polluted, choked with traffic, subject to intense urban heat islands, and less liveable as a result of rapid urbanisation in recent decades.
In 2007, the city published ‘Ljubljana 2025’, a comprehensive, interdisciplinary urban plan which centralised the expansion of green-blue spaces focusing on the use of tree canopies. Since 2010, more than 40,000 new trees have been planted across the city, and 120 hectares of new green park areas have been created, largely on former brownfield sites.
Along a 34 km tree-lined avenue that encircles the city is a public orchard garden which has significantly improved liveability for citizens. A fruit tree plantation, along with an adventure trail and nectar garden, provides space for environmental conservation, physical activity, and social cohesion. The city also enhanced the Ljubljanica river’s ecosystem, promoting biodiversity and creating pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. An Ecological Zone was introduced to eliminate motorised traffic in the city centre, promoting public electric transportation and a bike-sharing scheme.
The gradual expansion of green spaces and elimination of motorised vehicles in the city centre has resulted in a green cover of 75% city-wide and a 58% reduction in carbon black air particulates. The expansion of green spaces has improved air quality, reduced temperatures, and enhanced citizen health.
Located in the bustling urban environment of Bucharest, Romania, Văcărești Nature Park is an example of how nature can enable a city to be more resilient to the changing climate and its impacts. After the government’s abandoned plans to build a reservoir in 1989, this 183-hectare park has naturally evolved into a flourishing urban wetland over three decades, providing cost-effective, critical ecosystem services, offering a sanctuary in which biodiversity can thrive.
Sometimes described as “nature’s kidneys”, wetlands in urban parks can perform as green-blue infrastructure for water management and temperature regulation. The park’s complex network of vegetation and water bodies acts as a natural water filtration system, enabling effective surface water run-off. Additionally, the park’s expansive water surfaces and over 100 species of vascular plants help cool the air, providing relief from urban heat islands during hot summer months.
Furthermore, in a country prone to flooding, Văcărești Nature Park significantly bolsters flood protection. The park’s marshy landscape functions as a natural sponge, absorbing and gradually releasing rainwater, which reduces flood risks by mitigating harmful peak flows. This natural process effectively replaces the need for extensive — and often overburdened — networks of pipes and culverts, providing invaluable protection against potential water damage to infrastructure and residences.
Dive into the full report and explore all of the focus areas, strategies, and key recommendations in more detail.
At BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) we believe that circularity is vital for achieving a sustainable and resilient world, unlocking immense potential for people, the planet, and prosperity. The principles surrounding circular economy set forth in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s ‘Building Prosperity’ report provide a tangible foundation and set a direction for all stakeholders involved in developing projects related to the built environment. We are proud to have contributed to developing the report and recommend it as a guide for those wishing to enact positive environmental changes in the built environment.
Nature-positive, circular economy strategies are at the core of Vitoria- Gastiez’s ambition of becoming a net-zero carbon city and improving the wellbeing of our citizens. The strategies in this report are robust and align with our circular priorities, including rehabilitating old housing as well as using demolition materials and bio-based materials in new developments. As such, we welcome this report’s clear and actionable set of recommendations to accelerate the transition towards a nature-positive, circular economy that benefits all stakeholders within our shared built environment.
UNECE’s 69th Commission, through a decision of all its 56 member States, officially named the circular economy as a new cross-cutting priority topic for the organisation. Since then, we have worked to position circularity as a key aspect of our norm and standards setting activities, with a view to accelerate its adoption and create markets. All the while, the UNECE has framed circularity as a way to decouple economic growth from pollution, biodiversity loss and climate impacts: for this reason, we warmly welcome the insights contained in “Building Prosperity”, as they highlight the nature- positive benefits that the circular economy offers, and help create a sense of direction for a key sector that touches us all.
A just, resilient, and beautiful future is possible - if we invest in it. With €575 billion of benefits on the table each year, there is a strong argument for applying our creativity and ingenuity to the challenge. At a time when Europe is under pressure from all angles, using our resources wisely through a circular economy approach in the built environment is critical. EIT ClimateKIC strongly welcomes the analysis of Ellen MacArthur Foundation and is fully supportive of bringing the circular economy principles into action.
Now, more than ever, there is a need to unite and embrace nature, to reconnect communities with nature, and ensure economic prosperity and ecological health go hand in hand. This report underscores the clear benefits of nature-positive and circular implementation in our urban areas and the roles of policymakers at all levels to work with finance, developers and businesses.
Circular economy is the oldest concept on planet Earth. All nature is based on the principles of circularity - nothing is lost, and everything has its purpose. We humans, as part of nature, should abide by the same principles. This report is an important contribution to the transition needed. According to the recent Global Resource Outlook released by IRP, the built environment is one of human needs which are most resource intensive.”
How many lands do you touch? As humans, we impact the lands we build on, the farms that feed us, the working forests that house us, and the mines that supply our industries. Most reports look through the lens of risk associated with the degradation of our built world. It’s time to look through the lens of opportunity, to champion and scale efforts that heal the damage and produce positive ecosystem services by design. The good news is it’s already happening. This report demonstrates how nature’s healthy ecosystem models are setting the standard for a nature-positive, circular economy. Using biomimicry methods, we are challenging ourselves to perform like local ecosystems to build and manage lands in ways that create positive ecosystem services. It starts with measuring the ecological benefits flowing from local wildlands, then designing to return the favour. It’s how the circular economy learns from nature, for nature.
In our built environment, every building, every street, every neighbourhood offers us a chance to embrace innovative circular design. From the materials we use to the assets we create and the district we design, forward-looking regulation is emerging to help address both the climate and biodiversity crises, paving the way towards a nature-positive, circular and more resilient economy. But we will only unlock this positive change at scale through unguarded collaboration, by bringing together designers, policymakers, businesses and investors to embrace innovative value-creation models. What is abundantly clear is that nature must become a priority issue as we transition towards a regenerative built environment that balances growth with human and societal wellbeing for long-term prosperity.
This report reveals the need, potential, and value of merging circular economy and ecosystem services. Without nature, no life. Without life, no economy.
Circular economy strategies are an integral part of the European Green Deal, and go beyond materials management. As underlined in the 2020 Action Plan, circular economy initiatives contribute to delivering a clean and competitive Europe - one that is resilient, as well as climate and nature positive. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s “Building Prosperity” report focuses on tangible solutions for the built environment sector, and highlights their economic, environmental and societal benefits. This publication is very timely, as we move into the implemantation phase of the Action Plan.”
As a Member of the European Parliament and Globe EU board member, I firmly endorse this report’s findings. It clearly demonstrates economic development and nature restoration can be harmonised through a circular economy framework. This offers a pivotal opportunity to build resilience, drive innovation, and deliver prosperity across the EU. Embracing nature-positive models will create jobs, reduce import dependence, and ensure long-term vitality of our natural resources. The path charted is encouraging and will strengthen EU competitiveness while safeguarding our natural capital.”
Regenerative building is circular and nature-positive by design. It fosters systems that restore and enrich our natural and social landscapes. By transforming infrastructure into living ecosystems, we can build prosperity, enabling more resilient and vibrant cities, while advancing economic growth. As a leader in sustainable and innovative building solutions, Holcim is a proud supporter and contributor to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s vision for the built environment.
Adopting regenerative thinking and principles in policies has the potential to create multiplier effects beyond direct control. If we identify these regenerative opportunities we can create value across economic, ecological, and social dimensions while simultaneously promoting community wellbeing.
