Circular Economy in renovation practices: A casestudy of the Building Renewal Unit
Translated title
Cirkulær Økonomi i renoverings-praksisser: Et casestudie af Bygningsfornyelsen
Author
Nielsen, Frederik Lund
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-01-06
Pages
57
Abstract
This thesis examines how the Building Renewal Unit (BRU) in the Municipality of Copenhagen (MCPH), which co‑funds renovations of private properties, can accelerate circular renovation practices. Here, the circular economy means keeping materials in use for longer, reusing components, and minimizing waste. The study focuses on: 1) how external advisors and BRU staff view BRU’s role in advancing the circular economy through renovations, 2) how BRU can speed up this development within its legal and organizational framework, 3) how BRU can improve its capacity to facilitate circular measures in renewal projects, and 4) what challenges and opportunities BRU faces in doing so. It draws on perspectives from BRU’s four teams (the condemnation team, the political team, caseworkers, and the R&D team) and from representatives of four advisor firms that typically collaborate with BRU. The main empirical basis is five internal interviews with BRU employees and four interviews with external advisors, supplemented by four interviews with BRU caseworkers conducted by a BRU intern, desk research, and insights from a conference on sustainable construction. The analysis uses the Multi‑Level Perspective (MLP)—a framework for how change spreads through systems—combined with governance concepts and Strategic Niche Management (SNM), which looks at how small, protected experiments can grow into mainstream practice. The thesis finds that BRU sees a responsibility to accelerate the circular economy but lacks a strategy and procedures that would lead to circular outcomes. It further finds that BRU needs to adjust its processes and the premises for funding to better enable circular results in renovations. The report recommends new processes and funding criteria centered on collaborative approaches, in which property owners submit motivated applications explaining why BRU should co‑fund their projects. One example focus could be optimizing apartment layouts to support shared living. The discussion concludes that BRU has the expertise to guide projects toward circular outcomes and, if the recommendations are implemented, this may be done without increasing staff workload. However, securing resources to develop a new administrative foundation may be difficult, and the political level in MCPH may not agree with the changes suggested for BRU’s operations.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan Bygningsfornyelsesenheden (BRU) i Københavns Kommune (MCPH), som medfinansierer renovering af private ejendomme, kan fremme cirkulære renoveringspraksisser. Cirkulær økonomi handler her om at holde materialer i brug længst muligt, genbruge komponenter og minimere affald. Undersøgelsen fokuserer på: 1) hvordan eksterne rådgivere og BRU-medarbejdere ser BRU’s rolle i at fremme cirkulær økonomi gennem renoveringer, 2) hvordan BRU kan accelerere denne udvikling inden for de juridiske og organisatoriske rammer, som gælder for enheden, 3) hvordan BRU kan styrke sin kapacitet til at facilitere cirkulære tiltag i fornyelsesprojekter, og 4) hvilke barrierer og muligheder BRU møder i dette arbejde. Perspektiverne kommer fra BRU’s fire teams (kondemnations-teamet, det politiske team, sagsbehandlerne og R&D-teamet) samt repræsentanter fra fire rådgiverfirmaer, som BRU normalt samarbejder med. Empirisk bygger afhandlingen på fem interne interviews med BRU-medarbejdere og fire interviews med eksterne rådgivere, suppleret med fire interviews med BRU-sagsbehandlere gennemført af en praktikant i BRU, desk research og input fra en konference om bæredygtigt byggeri. Analysen anvender Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) – en ramme for, hvordan forandringer breder sig i systemer – kombineret med governance-begreber og Strategic Niche Management (SNM), som ser på, hvordan små, beskyttede forsøg kan vokse til bred praksis. Afhandlingen finder, at BRU ønsker at accelerere cirkulær økonomi, men mangler en strategi og procedurer, der konkret understøtter cirkulære resultater. Derudover peges der på behov for at ændre processer og forudsætninger for tilskud, så BRU bedre kan fremme cirkulære løsninger i renoveringer. Rapporten anbefaler nye processer og finansieringskriterier med vægt på samarbejdende forløb, hvor ejendomsejere indsender motiverede ansøgninger, der begrunder BRU’s medfinansiering. Et muligt projektfokus kan fx være pladsoptimering af lejligheder, så de egner sig til delebolig. I diskussionen vurderes det, at BRU har den nødvendige faglighed til at lede projekter mod cirkulære resultater, og at anbefalingerne kan gennemføres uden at øge medarbejdernes arbejdsbyrde. Samtidig kan det blive vanskeligt at skaffe ressourcer til at udvikle et nyt administrativt grundlag, og det politiske niveau i MCPH kan være uenigt i de foreslåede ændringer af BRU’s drift.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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