Service life planning and durability in the context of circular economy assessments — initial aspects for review

Abstract

This paper introduces some challenges involved in assessment of service life and durability in the context of circular economy principles. It proposes a possible agenda for service life planning in a resource-constrained economy. Aspects considered include the reuse of materials and components over multiple life cycles within built assets. The interface between life cycle assessment and costing techniques, service life planning, and resilience against changing climate and performance requirements is considered. The current codes and standards, in particular within ISO 15686 series on service life, CEN 15643 on integrated sustainability assessment, and ISO 20887 on design for disassembly, are briefly described together with some implicit challenges. The contributions of CIB Task Groups are also considered, in particular CIB Task Groups 16, 39, and 115 and CIB W80 on prediction of service life of building materials methodologies. Several current EU research and development projects are briefly mentioned, in particular BAMB (Buildings as Material Banks).