Ahead of this year’s Festival of Circular Economy, Circular Online asks whether targeted legislation and regulation could be the missing link in accelerating the UK’s transition to a circular economy in the construction and textiles sectors.
Regulation is often seen as both a catalyst and a constraint. Yet, as the UK urgently strives toward a circular economy, particularly within the high-impact sectors of construction and textiles, thoughtful legislation may be exactly what is needed to drive transformative change.
The importance of this debate will be explored in depth at this year’s Festival of Circular Economy, with sessions highlighting regulatory innovation, collaboration, and best practices across industries. The theme for this year is around unleashing the power of design for circularity, focussing specifically on the built environment and textiles sectors – two of the most resource-intensive industries.
This focus resonates strongly with the pressing concerns detailed in recent industry analyses around the built environment and textile management, especially as climate targets loom large.
Construction and textiles, two distinctly different sectors, share remarkably similar hurdles. Both are significant contributors to carbon emissions and waste generation.
David Harris, CEO of Premier Modular, highlights that the construction sector alone accounts for approximately 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, primarily due to waste. Similarly, textiles contribute vast amounts of global waste and pollution, driven by fast fashion and consumption trends.
However, both sectors also share opportunities through circular economy practices – specifically reuse, recycling, and modular design – though meaningful progress appears to remain stalled without regulatory guidance and incentives.
Regulation as a driver of circular change
The UK’s road to net-zero has shown measurable progress, with greenhouse gas emissions halved between 1990 and 2023. Yet, critical delays in policy implementation mean further steps are urgently needed, especially in areas like “embodied carbon” (the carbon footprint “built into” an item or structure) and waste management.
As detailed by Harris, initiatives such as the government’s Zero Avoidable Waste in Construction Route map and the England Trees Action Plan have laid valuable groundwork. However, these initiatives need more robust regulatory frameworks to drive meaningful behaviour change and scale up circular practices industry-wide.
Similarly, regulation has emerged as a crucial lever for change within the textile sector through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes. Jordan Girling, Head of EPR at WRAP, emphasises the viability of an EPR scheme for textiles in the UK, which could significantly boost domestic recycling infrastructure and shift producer behaviours towards circular design.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s recent report reinforces this, calling EPR a “necessary part” of addressing textile waste. This aligns with successful international examples, particularly France’s advanced EPR scheme, which includes incentives for repairing garments, thereby promoting a systemic shift away from disposable fashion.
The economic and environmental imperative
A comprehensive McKinsey and World Economic Forum study underscores the scale of opportunities available in circular construction.
The report suggests circular approaches could reduce construction emissions by up to 75% by 2050, saving as much as four gigatonnes of CO2 globally. Additionally, these circular practices could generate substantial financial benefits—up to $360 billion annually by mid-century.
Construction can learn significantly from textiles’ move towards EPR by adopting similar producer responsibility models.
Modular construction, highlighted by Harris, significantly reduces waste through precision manufacturing, controlled environments, and reusable components. Yet, without clear regulations, its widespread adoption remains limited.
Conversely, for textiles, EPR policies could push producers to design products with recycling, durability, and repair in mind from the outset, shifting consumer expectations and market dynamics fundamentally.
Legislative challenges and solutions
Despite evident benefits, introducing effective regulation in both sectors faces common barriers – political hesitancy, economic sensitivity, and gaps in data collection.
James Beard of Valpak highlights the UK textile industry’s particular barriers, such as poor-quality post-consumer textiles, underdeveloped recycling technologies, and a volatile global resale market.
Parallel challenges exist in construction, where Harris underscores the need for a staged approach to embodied carbon regulation, cautioning against hurried legislation that could harm industry competitiveness.
Addressing these barriers will require careful regulatory planning, significant investment in infrastructure, and fostering confidence in long-term circular initiatives.
Valerie Boiten of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation underscores this point, noting the essential role robust data plays in reassuring policymakers and industry stakeholders of the feasibility and impact of EPR schemes.
The paradox, Boiten argues, is that EPR itself may be the solution to the existing data gap, creating clearer metrics and transparency about product life cycles, waste streams, and recycling rates.
Lessons from leading practice
At the upcoming Festival of Circular Economy, scheduled sessions on day two (which is virtual to allow for global access) specifically address these critical regulatory and industry issues, spotlighting “Circularity in Construction: Scaling Up Innovation” and “Textiles and Fashion: Navigating the Circular Economy Transition.”
These sessions aim to offer practical insights, successful case studies, and collaborative solutions to address shared sectoral challenges.
Effective regulation could encourage adoption of innovative financial models in construction – like shifting from capital expenditure (CapEx) to operating expenditure (OpEx), as suggested by Harris, making renting or leasing modular structures financially attractive and environmentally beneficial.
For textiles, successful EPR implementation – exemplified by France’s evolution toward incentivising repair and reuse – is instructive.
This system not only recycles more efficiently but encourages businesses to fundamentally rethink their production and consumption models.
A circular future is possible
Realising a circular future for both construction and textiles is ambitious but achievable through targeted, evidence-based regulation. Such regulation must be designed to unlock innovation, drive market transformation, and overcome entrenched linear practices.
The opportunity to reshape these industries sustainably lies within reach – provided the UK can navigate the political, economic, and infrastructural challenges effectively.
The Festival of Circular Economy offers a critical platform to explore precisely these strategies, share experiences, and build consensus around ambitious, practical regulatory frameworks.
In conclusion, regulation is not merely an enforcement tool – if used properly, it can be the key to unlocking a genuinely circular economy, turning environmental ambition into everyday practice in two of the UK’s most impactful industries.
To explore these issues further and engage directly with experts and policymakers shaping the future of circularity, register for the Festival of Circular Economy today and join the conversation on building a sustainable tomorrow.
The post Can regulation unlock a circular future for construction & textiles? appeared first on Circular Online.
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