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In the process of implementing circular economy within the built environment, quantifying progress and performance towards this effort has posed a substantial challenge. In response, this paper reviews the current state of building-specific circularity indicators, creates a taxonomy, and integrates them within the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Plan of Work, a commonly employed framework within the UK's built environment. Through a systematic literature review considering both academic and grey literature, 32 building circularity indicators, developed by academia, consulting agencies, and governments, are identified. The first contribution of this study is the creation of a taxonomy of building circularity indicators, which classifies the identified indicators into 8 categories, such as basic characteristics of indicators, circularity level, and sustainability pillars. The second contribution of this study is the alignment of circularity within the stages of Plan of Work framework. It is revealed that the framework does not currently incorporate circularity, resulting in the proposal of a new Stage 8: End of Life to encompass demolition, disassembly, and deconstruction activities. Alignment of the taxonomy to Plan of Work framework provides a guide in utilization of building circularity indicators throughout the process of designing, constructing and operating building projects. • Building-specific circularity indicators are reviewed for the built environment. • A taxonomy of 32 building circularity indicators is created across eight categories. • A new Stage 8: End of Life is proposed for RIBA framework to enhance circularity. • The circularity indicators are integrated with the RIBA Plan of Work framework. • A traffic light approach is employed to guide the use of circularity indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) is emerging as an important solution in delivering deep emissions reductions in energy-intensive industries, enabling hydrogen production, and possibly directly capturing existing carbon dioxide (CO 2) from the atmosphere. The potential for associated new industry activity – for example in CO 2 Transport and Storage (T&S) – could also be important in transitioning economies with legacy investment in oil and gas extraction. This paper addresses the question of how introducing a nascent T&S industry may impact the wider UK economy in the presence of persisting national labour supply constraints. It does so by refining a multi-sector economy-wide computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the UK to run scenarios focussed on the emergence of a nascent sector, involving identification of benchmark activity – here, the existing oil and gas industry – where that nascent sector is not currently represented in national accounting data. Crucially, the CGE model embeds a theoretically and empirically tested wage bargaining function to consider how cost and price pressures triggered will condition dynamic outcomes for producers, consumers and government budgets. Results suggest that emergence of a new T&S industry is likely to deliver sustained net gains in UK employment and GDP. However, maximising T&S-linked jobs gains while minimising displacement of employment and price pressures elsewhere in the economy requires policy action to alleviate labour supply and skills constraints. This reinforces policy and industry recommendations around the need for net zero workforce planning and attention to the potential fiscal implications of taking action, or not/in different timeframes. • Introducing a new CO 2 Transport and Storage industry could boost the UK economy. • Wage responses in a supply constrained labour market substantially condition outcomes. • Wage-cost driven price impacts affect all producers, consumers and government budgets. • Mitigating wage bargaining pressure requires policy action on workforce planning. • Findings reinforce the need for economy-wide and fiscal analysis of net zero actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport-related activities represented 34% of the total carbon emissions in the UK in 2022 and heavy-duty vehicles (HGVs) accounted for one-fifth of the road transport greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Currently, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are considered as suitable replacements for diesel fleets. However, these technologies continue to face techno-economic barriers, creating uncertainty for fleet operators wanting to transition away from diesel-powered internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). This paper assesses the performance and cost competitiveness of BEV and FCEV powertrain solutions in the hard-to-abate HGV sector. The study evaluates the impact of battery degradation and a carbon tax on the cost of owning the vehicles. An integrated total cost of ownership (TCO) model, which includes these factors for the first time, is developed to study a large retailer's HGV fleet operating in the UK. The modelling framework compares the capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenses (OPEX) of alternative technologies against ICEVs. The TCO of BEVs and FCEVs are 11% to 33% and 37% to 78% higher than ICEVs; respectively. Despite these differences, by adopting a longer lifetime for the vehicle it can effectively narrow the cost gap. Alternatively, cost parity with ICEVs could be achieved if BEV battery cost reduces by 56% or if FCEV fuel cell cost reduces by 60%. Besides, the pivot point for hydrogen price is determined at £2.5 per kg. The findings suggest that BEV is closer to market as its TCO value is becoming competitive, whereas FCEV provides a more viable solution than BEV for long-haul applications due to shorter refuelling time and lower load capacity penalties. Furthermore, degradation of performance in lithium-ion batteries is found to have a minor impact on TCO if battery replacement is not required. However, critical component replacement and warranty can influence commercial viability. Given the high costs, we propose financial incentives and vehicle tax reforms to reduce costs of critical components that will encourage the roll-out of zero emission HGVs. • TCO model employs real-world fleet data to compare HGV powertrain technologies. • Maximising vehicle lifetime is key to reduce the TCO gap and get closer to parity. • BEVs have a TCO 11%–33% higher than ICEVs. • FCEVs have a TCO 37%–78% higher than ICEVs. • Degradation in lithium-ion batteries is found to have a minor impact on TCO value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]