Speakers
Description
Purpose: Focusing on the Swiss real estate development universe, the research is addressing a threefold paradigm shift towards the circular economy, impact investments and digitalisation. While traditional investments traded off sustainability impact for financial performance, the research aim is to assess the novel circular economy business models in real estate development which have both a financial and environmental impact. Given the prevalence of temporarily vacant plots in the Swiss market—attributable to financing shortages or delays in building permit approvals—the study investigates in particular multi-scalar circular economy business models spanning urban-building-component scales through temporary flexible and modular space configurations.
Methods: The research approach is mainly descriptive, drawing upon real estate development projects as case studies. As a base, a state-of-the-art review was conducted.
Findings: A range of new value creation systems for circular economy business models were identified and synthetised into a framework. Based on the results, in a second phase, the hypothesis tested was that the use of digitalisation for flexible solutions on temporary vacant sites brings both financial and sustainability impact while advancing the principles of circular economy. The key benefits for owners and real estate investors comes from the adaptability to changing market demands, material efficiency, reducing vacancy, re-use and repurpose, low impact on urban ecology and biodiversity, innovative new real estate products among others.
Originality/Conclusion: The novelty comes from investigating circular economy business models which address the urban, building and component scale. Moreover, the study pioneers an exploration into the intersections of the circular economy, impact investments, and digitalisation within the Swiss real estate development market. The research brings new insights into the positive financial impact of advancing circular economy in real estate development. This approach stands as a strategy for real estate developers seeking alignment with the goals of the circular economy objectives by capitalising on temporary vacant sites through short-term adaptable projects which have multi-scalar impact.
| Keywords | Digitalisation, Circular Economy, Business Models, Impact Investments |
|---|---|
| Topics | Circular Economy |
