Product Platforms as Enablers for the Circular Economy in Construction: An Integrative Review

This integrative review evaluates the potential of product platforms to support the circular economy in construction. Circular economy aims to minimize waste by promoting the regeneration of materials and products. Product platforms appear to support the circular economy because they facilitate efficiency by leveraging repetitions, standardization, and modularization providing potential to increase resource efficiency and reuse. These overlapping definitions lead to the assumption of promising interceptions between product platforms and circular economy that could prove valuable in transitioning away from the traditional ‘take-make-waste’ paradigm. This transition is especially needed in construction. Despite its success in other industries, such as manufacturing, aerospace and defense, product platforms remain largely unexplored in the construction sector. This review sets out to firstly, review barriers to circular economy in construction; secondly, establish a terminology by providing an overview of how product platforms are defined and applied in construction, and thirdly, investigate the benefits of product platforms that could address barriers to circular economy in construction. To do so, this study integrates two strings of research: The barriers to circular economy and the potential of product platforms in construction. By reviewing literature on both areas, this study outlines that product platforms in construction share technical, process, and knowledge domains, while standardization, modularization and configuration are relevant precursors to their application. Further, this study identifies four enablers through which product platform benefits could address barriers to circular economy: commercialization, reuse, derisking, and innovation. Ultimately, this integrative review provides avenues for further research, insights for policymakers, researchers, and industry practitioners interested in promoting the circular economy through platforms.