People and Planet: Exploring how circularity in the built environment supports human health and well-being

In a circular economy, materials never become waste and nature is regenerated. Products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, recycling and composting. And waste and pollution are eliminated as products and materials are circulated at their highest value.

But what impact does circularity in the built environment have on human health and well-being?

Jessica Cooper, Chief Product Officer at the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), dug into this topic during a MainStage session at the 2024 WELL Conference in conversation with Kellie Ballew, Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer at Shaw Industries Group, Inc.; Amy Costello, Product Stewardship and Sustainability Manager at Armstrong World Industries; Sara Enaharo, Global Sustainability Director at Milliken & Company; and Paul Stambinas, Vice President of Sustainability at Sloan.

The session, “People and Planet: Exploring how circularity in the built environment supports human health and well-being," revealed:

• “When you think about circularity, it has a huge impact on our health whether we realize it or not. When everybody does it, it really does add up.” - Costello
• “We can’t talk about circularity without talking about material health. Material health is at the foundation of circularity.” - Enaharo
• “Material selection matters because if you’re going to circulate them over and over again in your products or if you’re going to give them to another industry to use as an input, the chemistry matters.” - Ballew
• “Pre-consumer (aka post-industrial) ways can play a critical part in the circular economy – finding value for manufacturing waste that might typically go to the landfill and reducing the need for virgin raw materials in products.” - Stambinas

Four guiding principles emerged as ways to integrate circularity principles with sustainability strategies:

1. Incorporate Circularity into Product Design & Development
A huge part of creating circular products is understanding the ingredients in those products, both from a transparency perspective, but also from a materials health perspective. “There’s so much research showing that in the design phase of a product, you can control about 80 percent of a product’s impacts,” said Costello “If you miss that opportunity, it’s an opportunity loss.”

It’s a sentiment Ballew echoed, “For us, the Cradle to Cradle material health assessment lets us have confidence that the materials we use are safe for the environment, safe for people in our manufacturing plants, safe for the users of our beautiful products, and safe at the end of the life when they get processed again.”

2. Consider the Entire Value Chain
“The achievement of circularity really relies on a multifaceted web of stakeholders,” Enaharo noted.

As one example, panelists lamented that during tenant improvement projects, it’s not uncommon for teams to consider the recyclability of the new product but not plan for products that were in the previous space before demolition begins. Ballew emphasized, “What about the carpet that was there? I wanted that back. It’s valuable raw materials to me and helps me lower my carbon footprint. The conversation has to move up and down this value chain to get more people to really embrace the expectations for circularity.”

3. Advocate for Policy
Policies that provide funding and that promote anti-waste efforts are key to advancing the circular economy. “My tea leaves tell me, policy is going to be critical for pushing the circular economy forward,” Enaharo noted, citing the success of efforts in France. “Extended Producer Responsibility schemes can really help finance the circular economy, whether that’s the sorting, the processes, the recycling centers. It’ll be key as far as where circularity is going to be in the future.”

4. Provide Education Opportunities
“Carbon has been the focus for a long time, and I really think that circularity is going to have this new focus,” Stambinas shared. Circularity is a growing conversation because of its connection to carbon footprints, climate change, responsible use of resources, material health and more.

“It can be hard for many to make the connection between circularity and wellness. Understanding that challenge and helping to educate people of what those connections are is really important,” Costello indicated.

When we connect circularity with health, safety and better ingredients and materials, we have an opportunity create improved air quality, less greenhouse gas emissions and safer products for people who are manufacturing them, as well as the people who are using the spaces in which they are installed. Knowing what’s in a product, implementing reclamation specifications, enacting policy and educating the industry are key to advancing a circular economy designed to positively impact people and planet.