Circular economy in construction: a systematic literature review of the application of material passports

The construction sector is one of the most resource-intensive and polluting industries. According to the European Union (EU), the industry accounts for over 50% of virgin resources, contributes to 35% of total waste, and emits over 12% of greenhouse gases. Under these circumstances, there is an urge for the industry to transit from a linear economy model to a circular one, whereby materials and products can be recycled and reused. To support such a paradigm shift in the sector, the EU introduced Material Passports (MPs) in 2016, through which a digitalised database inventory of materials, components, and products to be used in a building can be built. Since then, researchers have attempted to develop different ways to implement and utilise MPs. However, a systematic review of how MPs have been used to facilitate the circular economy in construction is missing. To address this knowledge gap, this paper aims at conducting a systematic literature review to examine the extent to which the MPs have been used in a building life cycle using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) approach. Findings indicate that existing applications have primarily focused on the design and decommissioning phases of the building lifecycle; however, the operational and maintenance phase has been given scarce attention. Findings also point out the digitalised potential of MPs with other Industry 4.0 tools.