A Theoretical Exploration of Digital Technologies for Transitioning Towards A Circular Built Environment.

Circular Economy and Digital Technologies are emerging models recently identified as potential fields for achieving sustainable practice in various industries, including the built environment. Circular Economy has emerged as an alternative to the conventional linear "take-make-use-dispose" system of production and consumption to design out waste, reduce CO2 emission, and regenerate nature through principles of circularity. While digital technologies have been identified as critical enablers of the circular economy across sectors, their implementation in the built environment remains fragmented. This paper presents a theoretical exploration of how digital technologies, such as Building Information Modeling, Digital Twins, the Internet of Things, Material Passport, and Blockchain, can facilitate the implementation of circular strategies across the construction value chain. Through conceptual mapping, this paper highlights how digital technologies can be leveraged to facilitate circular strategies such as narrowing, slowing, and closing the loops in the built environment. In addition, the paper also draws on two prominent innovation models: the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) frameworks underpinning an acceptance or rejection of digital innovation within organizations to propose a pathway for transitioning toward a circular economy. A hybrid TAM-TEO model is proposed to investigate the potential of digital technologies to transition to a circular-oriented business model in an organization. The proposed model provides insights into how internal (perceived usefulness and ease of use) and external (economic, technological, environmental, and organizational) factors influence circular adoption in an organization. The paper lays the groundwork for future empirical research on implementing circular economy practice in the built environment using digital technologies.