Digital Tools in Circular Construction Supply Chains

Amid escalating environmental challenges and resource depletion, the architecture, engineering, and construction industry faces increasing pressure to shift from linear economic models to sustainable, circular practices. The industry is a major consumer of natural resources and generates substantial waste, much of which finds its way to landfills due to a largely linear approach and inadequate demolition waste management. While efforts to adopt circular principles are underway, barriers such as insufficient and inconsistent data hinder effective material reuse from the end-of-life (EOL) phase to new use. Reverse logistics (RL), an essential component of the circular supply chain, facilitates the flow of materials from the EOL of buildings to their new use, providing infrastructure to manage waste and recapture value from salvaged materials. However, the lack of effective information sharing exacerbates these data-related challenges, as critical information of building elements at the EOL remains siloed, fragmented, or inaccessible, limiting the overall efficiency of RL. The advent of digital tools designed to collect, store, and analyze material data offers solutions for improving transparency and communication in reverse logistics. However, a comprehensive review of these tools remains absent. This paper explores existing digital tools supporting RL in circular supply chains and identifies opportunities and limitations in digital integration and information flow. Based on these findings, we propose recommendations to enhance digital support, advancing the industry toward a circular economy that maximizes the useful life of building components.