Circular Economy Statements Guidance

The built environment sector is the largest user of materials globally. In London, it consumes 400 million tonnes of material each year and accounts for 48 per cent of waste. Extending the life of buildings and recovering and reusing materials at the end of their life can help reduce the demand for materials and waste produced. 

Adopting circular economy approaches will play a significant role in promoting resource efficiency and addressing the challenges of the climate emergency. A transition to circular economy is also important in London becoming 100% net self-sufficient in managing its own waste. 

Circular Economy Statements are intended to support the achievement of these aims and draft guidance has been produced which sets out how these should be prepared. 

What has happened so far

The guidance has been informed by extensive engagement with a range of built environment stakeholders including with developers, architects, contractors, technical consultants, the public sector and academia.

The draft guidance was also published for information only in March 2020 and consulted on for twelve weeks from October 2020 to January 2021. We received a range of helpful feedback, which informed the final version of the guidance. A summary of the consultation feedback and GLA response can be found in the Consultation Summary Report in the document library. 

The Mayor formally adopted the guidance in March 2022.

Equality Impact Assessment

The equality implications of the guidance have been assessed through an Equality Impact Assessment, which can be viewed on the GLA website.