Motivators for adopting circular economy in construction

Abstract

The construction industry is transitioning globally from a linear practice to a circular economy (CE) approach, offering promising pathways to mitigate environmental impacts and optimize resource utilization. Yet, a critical gap persists in understanding the motivators behind this transition. This study identified the role of motivator factors influencing the adoption of CE practices across diverse stakeholder groups in the Indian construction industry. A questionnaire survey collected 199 responses from academic and construction industry practitioners in India. Cronbach's alpha checked the reliability of the data. Normality tests indicated normalcy approximation of collected data, suggesting parametric analysis. One-sample t-test assessed the consistency of sample results with those of the population. ANOVA examined the agreement of the different groups on the relative importance of individual factors. Factor analysis narrowed down the list of factors into categorizable components. The study identified 32 motivators. The prioritization of motivators revealed that education and training related factors topped the list, followed by awareness and policy related factors in the mid-range, and incentives related factors at the bottom, although all the factors received high scores in general. Statistical t-tests also confirmed that all the motivators are significantly important in the total sample and individual groups of respondents, except a very few factors in contractor group in the grouping based on affiliation, and academic group in the grouping based on nature of job. ANOVA results indicated strong consensus on the relative importance of motivators among the respondent groups, with differences observed only for two factors within groups based on affiliation, and seven factors within groups based on nature of job. With such small differences, the findings revealed a higher level of awareness and broad but subtle agreement on the priorities of the CE motivators. The observed perceptual differences were interpreted to have arisen from job-specific roles and structured differences in operational duties of particular groups, which are suggested to be harmonized through collaborative research, cross-disciplinary engagement, targeted training, and structured knowledge sharing through suitable policy development. Factor analysis consolidated the motivators into three components: organizational collaboration and support; research, education, and technological integration; and increased tax and non-financial incentives. The components were seen to be interrelated with primary and secondary contributions of many individual motivators, suggesting the need for a holistic approach to CE adoption. The study highlights the necessity of tailored policies, collaborative frameworks, and enhanced knowledge dissemination to accelerate CE adoption in construction. The next step entails identifying and assessing the challenges and strategies for their wider adoption in construction.