Digital platforms for circularity: Tackling the challenge of secondary construction materials

Construction is one of the most significant industries responsible for the huge extraction of raw materials – 30% of all such extraction worldwide – and 40% of energy- and process-related emissions, including 11% of global greenhouse gases. During operation and demolition, construction generates about 25% of all waste worldwide, along with emitting potentially harmful substances that can lead to drinking water pollution (40%), air pollution (30%) and biodiversity loss. A major challenge in sustainable construction is how to promote secondary construction materials (SCMs) and reduce demolition waste at the same time. Many current studies cite digital platforms (DPs) as an enabler for the circular economy (CE) and sustainability, by advancing novel solutions based on trust, transparency, visibility, connectivity, security, traceability and automation. In Industry 4.0, such innovative technologies – for example, BIM, Digital Twin or AI – are becoming more popular in construction. However, both theoretical and practical implications of DPs for circular SCMs are still at an early stage of development. This research presents the results of a systematic review, using Biblioshiny library and natural language processing (NLP) for content analysis. The aim is to identify digital platform applications for SCMs and how to implement successful DPs in the future in this complex setting.