Exploring Circular Facilities Management: A Case of Portfolio, Building, and Workplace Transformation

Background and aim. The focus on circular economy has become increasingly stronger as part of sustainable development in recent years. However, the focus on circularity in Facilities Management (FM) has until now been very limited. The purpose of this paper is to develop the concept of Circular FM (C-FM) and to show, how FM can support an organization in optimizing workplaces, buildings, and portfolios in a holistic sustainable way.
Methods. Based on a literature study on circular economy, buildings, and FM, and on a case study of facilities transformation, the paper identifies essential elements and enablers in C-FM and use a value tree to show the potential benefits of C-FM.
Results. The paper shows how property portfolios, existing buildings and workplaces can be developed, transformed, managed, and operated from principles of circularity with the aim to contribute to a building stock, which is more holistic sustainable covering not only environmental and economic aspects but social aspects as well. This is illustrated by value trees to show the value of C-FM. The paper also shows how circular actions can prolong buildings’ lifespan and intensify building use, and it adds basic space optimization to actions described in literature.
Originality. This is one of the first research papers on C-FM and points out its possible value. Practical or social implications. The paper can help researchers and practitioners to advance C-FM and thereby contribute to future-proof FM to be holistically sustainable.