Material Inventories and Circular Economy Strategies in Construction – A Literature Synthesis

10 pages•Published: June 2, 2026

Abstract

Transitioning the construction industry towards circular economy (CE) requires reliable and interoperable material information systems. Despite growing attention to CE, existing research remains centered on waste management, resulting in fragmented and reactive practices. This paper presents a systematic literature review on the integration of material inventories and CE to promote proactive, data-driven circularity practices in construction. Following PRISMA guidelines, 28 studies were reviewed and included in the final analysis. The paper aims to synthesize existing research on material inventories and CE in construction, explore CE strategies enabled by material inventories, identify the data types used in material inventories, and highlight research gaps and future directions. Findings reveal that material inventories act as key enablers across four CE strategies material reuse, recycling, deconstruction planning, and circularity in design by providing structured information to identify and evaluate materials for recovery and reuse. However, current practices remain largely relying on textual data from audits and reports. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by systematically mapping how material inventories facilitate circularity across different strategies and linking diverse material data types with emerging technologies, while offering practical guidance on improving material data management to support a more sustainable and circular built environment.

Keyphrases: ce strategies, circular economy, material inventories

In: Wesley Collins, Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico (editors). Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference, vol 7, pages 485-494.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/9cth
	https://doi.org/10.29007/5m7n

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ASC2026:Material_Inventories_Circular_Economy,
  author    = {Amr Mansour and Mohammed Hashem Mehany},
  title     = {Material Inventories and Circular Economy Strategies in Construction – A Literature Synthesis},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference},
  editor    = {Wesley Collins and Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Built Environment},
  volume    = {7},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2632-881X},
  url       = {/publications/paper/9cth},
  doi       = {10.29007/5m7n},
  pages     = {485-494},
  year      = {2026}}

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