Buildings are responsible for 37% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet several high impact areas within the built environment remain insufficiently addressed in academic research despite their mitigation potential. One such area is the recurring refurbishment of office fit-outs, which typically occurs every two to ten years and represents approximately 25% of an office building’s whole-life carbon footprint. There are very few studies that quantify recurring emissions of office fit-outs and/or provide insights on effective strategies for reducing GHG emissions across repeated refurbishment cycles. This lack of evidence limits the ability of stakeholders to take appropriate actions to achieve climate targets within the building sector. To address this gap, this study explores how circular economy strategies can be implemented to reduce GHG emissions from recurring office fit-outs. Using an office building case study in New Zealand, circular economy strategies were identified and modelled to calculate their potential for GHG emission reduction. The study quantifies GHG emissions for both conventional and circular fit-out scenarios and compares these emissions over multiple refurbishment cycles to represent cumulative climate change impacts.
Investigated circular economy strategies include: (i) maximise reuse of office furniture and floor carpet tiles, (ii) design for optimised office space including shared and centralised workspaces, and (iii) design for waste prevention at the construction stage. The study shows that these strategies provide both immediate and long-term GHG emission reductions in office buildings. This highlights the opportunity for policy frameworks to be developed that support circularity in office building practices. Integrating embodied carbon considerations into consent processes, establishing circular fit-out certification schemes, and supporting digital infrastructure that facilitates secondary market can enable significant emission reductions. Addressing this overlooked area can therefore play a vital role in aligning the building sector with climate mitigation targets.