Supporting the Transition from Linear to Circular Economy Through the Sustainability Protocols

The significant paradigm shift that contemporary cities are experiencing in terms of economic, social and environmental issues frames the particular urgency of a transition towards more sustainable urban systems. In this context, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) has begun to explore the possible applications of the circular economy (CE) principles and objectives within cities, promoting their relevance among city policy makers in order to address sustainable urban planning and design issues. In particular, the EMF emphasizing the importance of a sustainable design of the urban environment on people’s quality of life, promoting the sustainability protocols such as useful tools to spread the design of a sustainable built environment through effective strategies. In this perspective, this paper aims to investigate if and to what extent the sustainability protocols at the neighborhood scale are evolving towards the tran- sition to the CE paradigm within cities. First, the two most internationally used sustainability protocols at the neighborhood scale, respectively the LEED-ND and the BREEAM Communities, are analyzed in terms of assessment structure and contents. Second, a comparative analysis is provided, stating how many criteria of these two tools can be traced back to the principles and key elements of CE in cities, and providing their relative importance. Furthermore, on the basis of this analysis, the paper highlights within the conclusions if and in what terms the sustainability protocols at the neighborhood scale analyzed support the paradigm shift toward circularity that is taking place within cities.