Six Business Model Types for Circular Building Component Reuse Actors

Abstract

While circular business models are receiving increasing academic attention, the business models of real circular building companies remain underexamined. This paper builds upon existing conceptual proposals and general overviews of reuse actors to investigate how these organizations capture and create value within the constraints of the marketplace. Using data from case studies of 25 organizations involved in the reuse of construction waste streams, the business model of each case is described and compared using Osterwalder and Pigneur’s Business Model Canvas. The authors propose six categories of circular construction business model types: upcyclers, component-specific suppliers, material resellers, reuse platforms, reuse consulting offices and deconstruction companies. The key findings include the studied organizations’ consolidation of multiple waste and new product streams, the strategic minimization of hard assets, the cultivation of diverse revenue streams and an emphasis on private market solutions.