As mentioned, the fact that Ramboll as a company is very diverse, technical, and multi-sectoral puts us in an excellent position to advise the market when it comes to the circular economy. To succeed in the circular economy, it is necessary to really understand it – and the circular economy is very complex, as well as being abstract, diverse, technical, multi-faceted and indeed vital. Success calls for an ability to articulate, to educate, and to communicate, to plan and to strategise. An ability to design and construct and, probably above all, an ability to monetise.

As transition to a circular economy encompasses the entire economy, a broad sectoral understanding is also critical. From buildings to energy, utilities to industry, public agencies to cities. At Ramboll, we can lean on the expertise of 18,000 gifted and passionate colleagues that can lead the successful transition of our clients to a circular economy. It is no easy task, but it is certainly an exciting one!

Absolutely. In fact, we have included a relevant case study per sector as part of the capability statement. As an example, let’s take the buildings and infrastructure sector. This sector faces significant challenges in transitioning to a circular economy, despite the evident benefits of reducing resource consumption, minimising waste generation and significantly reducing embodied carbon. ​One hurdle is the long lifecycle and durability of infrastructure and buildings. Another challenge lies in the complex supply chains and diverse stakeholders involved in construction projects. The industry traditionally operates in a linear fashion, with suppliers, contractors, and developers focusing on delivering projects on time and within budget. Furthermore, regulatory and policy frameworks pose barriers. Existing regulations may not incentivise or require sustainable building practices.

A good example of our work within this sector is 3 Sheldon Square, a 10-storey office building located in the heart of Paddington Central, London, completed in 2002. Following an initial feasibility study into the potential refurbishment of the building, British Land commissioned Ramboll to extend the building’s life and to meet the needs of contemporary commercial occupiers. The refurbishment is regarded as class-leading by British Land and was awarded the highest sustainability audit score to date on their projects. The project involved Ramboll providing sustainability oversight to guide the development to ensure delivery of British Land’s 2030 sustainability vision, and to provide an exemplar test bed to demonstrate what can be achieved through the retrofit of an existing building. Working closely with the project team, we led and facilitated regular workshops to review opportunities for delivering Net Zero outcomes and embedding sustainability and circular best practices.

The final result saw the refurbishment regarded as class-leading by British Land and awarded the highest sustainability audit score to date on their projects. The project is being considered by the UK Green Building Council as a retrofit case study and the City of London in support of their emerging policy.​ The project has achieved a design stage BREEAM Rating of Outstanding, is Well Enabled, Wired Score Platinum and achieves a DfP NABERs rating of 4.5*.

Of course. Let’s take the energy sector. After all, the need to transition to a low carbon economy while securing our energy supply has never been so acute. Yet both the energy transition and security of supply are heavily reliant upon finite or rare materials. Circular solutions, therefore, are highly important to ensure that the energy transition can be sustained with the reliance upon finite materials being controlled. ​The high demand for scarce and finite resources to enable the energy transition will also have a significant impact upon resource availability across other sectors. To ensure the energy transition is sustainable, the transition of the energy sector to a circular economy is of paramount importance.

The renewable energy transition will entail massive investments in new energy infrastructure, which also require significant material inputs. These developments need to include circular economy considerations from start to finish to reduce pressure on the global need for virgin raw materials and reduce waste at the end of component lifecycles.​

Many renewable energy developers have circular economy ambitions and targets but are still challenged to develop concrete actions, quantify circularity and measure progress towards targets. We have a client, a globally leading offshore wind developer who already has a sustainability strategy that already includes bold ambitions for circularity, including several defined circularity targets. At Ramboll, we combine technical, environmental, and financial expertise with strategic insights to turn sustainability ambitions into real actions. Thus, we are the ideal partner to help the client to define actions for its circularity ambitions in offshore wind.

Using a previously completed Material Circularity Indicator study for the client, Ramboll identified priority materials and components in the client’s projects.​ We defined specific actions to enhance circularity across these components and materials. Using a series of workshops and iteration rounds, we could fine tune the actions defined to provide recommendations in alignment with the client's business model and operational feasibility. The client was provided with a tiered circularity strategy: 1) on an organisation level, we defined practices for improved ways-of-working with circularity; 2) on a project-level, we defined technical solutions available on the market for the client to leverage. The tiered strategy developed ensures that circularity can be increased on projects in the short-term and lays a foundation to repeatedly embed circularity in future projects.

To learn more about Ramboll’s services for the circular economy, download the capability statement now.