Nexus between Carbon and Waste in a Circular Built Environment: A Bibliometric Analysis

The construction industry, being one of the key contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, generates approximately 39% of global carbon emissions. In line with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and to accelerate the built environment sector towards a 1.50C pathway, most countries have agreed to nationally determined contributions to achieve net zero targets by 2050. On the other hand, the traditional linear economic model focuses on take-make-dispose while circular economy emphasises the better use of resources by using closed loops of resource flows by recovering and preventing waste as much as possible. Therefore, decarbonising the overall construction industry and minimising excessive construction waste generation should be the ultimate goal. However, less emphasis has been given by the existing research on the link between carbon emission reduction and waste minimisation in the construction context. Hence, this research aims at exploring the existing scholarly knowledge on carbon and waste in a circular built environment to understand the trends and gaps in current research in this area. A bibliometric analysis was carried out to investigate the existing knowledge on carbon emissions and waste generation in the construction industry, specifically focusing on a circular economy. The data was extracted using the Web of Science (WoS) database and the bibliometric analysis was carried out using the VOSviewer software. The findings revealed that carbon emissions have been given less significance in circular economy research than waste minimisation in the construction industry. Eventually, this study provides a deeper understanding of the need for research on carbon-waste nexus for the successful transition to a circular built environment.