Enablers of Circular Economy Implementation in Built Environment Sector of Developing Countries—Evidence from Bangladesh

The built environment is highly resource-intensive economic sectors and produces significant waste. Thus, circular economy has the potential to address these challenges caused by the construction sector’s adoption of the linear economic model. During the 21st century, there has been a tremendous growth in circular economy research; nonetheless, there are substantial research gaps regarding the enablers to instigating circular economy practices in the built environment of emerging economies such as Bangladesh. This article sets out to unpack the enablers relevant to circular economy implementation at the industry level for the built environment of Bangladesh. To address the aims of this qualitative study, ten face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted for each identified circular economy enabler among experts and practitioners from institutions involved in Bangladesh’s built environment. In depth observation and thematic analysis were used to identify and categorize the most significant enablers to circular economy implementation in the built environment. This research study reveals that the adoption of innovative materials and technologies, as well as the implementation of circular design principles, significantly reduces the demand for virgin resources and energy consumption during the construction process. The result of this research provides enough empirical evidence to identify the enablers to circular transformation for the built environment of Bangladesh. The research underscores the evidence about the managerial implications of the circular economy enablers, representing the first comprehensive attempt to identify and validate the enablers to circular economy transformation in Bangladesh’s built environment. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.