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This paper develops a novel user-acceptance model for circular solutions to housing design. The model has been systematically developed from a case study of an upcycled plastic bottle building in a low-income community in Nigeria. It is common practice to use participatory approaches to consult end users in communities, typically after design concepts have been proposed and conceptualised. However, this often leads to critical socio-cultural or usability elements being overlooked and the design being substandard. Therefore, this paper develops a robust model for designers, specialists and activists involved in construction that can be used during all phases of a project. This approach demonstrates that user needs should be considered before building designs and plans are generated, providing a greater frame of reference for practitioners, consultants and end users. Enabling the integration of holistic needs of the community and the development of circular design solution.

A case study methodology has been employed to develop this model, uses appreciative inquiry methodology. This includes multiple methods to capture end users’ perception: focus groups, interactions with the local community and self-recorded comments. This case study is part of a broader research project to develop replicable low-cost self-sufficient homes utilising local capacity using upcycled, locally available materials.

The findings identify the challenges associated with designing circular solution housing without a robust understanding of interrelated factors, which ensure sustainability and user acceptance. The conclusions demonstrate why essential socio-cultural factors, usually unrelated to technical development, should be understood and contextualised when designing sustainable solutions in low/middle-income communities. The authors argue that without this holistic approach, undesirable consequences may arise, often leading to more significant challenges. Instead of referring to multiple frameworks, this distinctive model can be used to evaluate user acceptance for low-cost housing in particular and other dimensions of circular solution design that involve end-user acceptance. The model blends circular solution dimensions with user-acceptance concerns offering a guide that considers essential features that are both user-friendly and pragmatic, such as utility, technological innovation and functionality as well as their intersectionality.

The research relied on a single case study, which focussed on end-user engagement of upcycling waste materials as an application of circular solutions. The model will contribute to developing socially accepted circular solutions taking into consideration local context factors.

The paper is proposing a model for user acceptance of circular construction materials relevant to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Green business models (GBMs) in the construction sector represent the logic of green value creation and capture. Hence, the call to examine GBMs is growing ever louder. The aim of this paper is to identify benefits of GBMs by adopting five essential elements of the GBM from the literature: green value proposition; target group; key activities; key resources (KR); and financial logic.

In all, 19 semi-structured interviews are conducted with construction sector practitioners and academics in the UK. Thematic analysis is used to obtain benefits of GBMs. Further, the interpretive ranking process (IRP) is used to examine which elements of the GBM have a dominant role in providing benefits to construction businesses.

The benefits are grouped into three themes: credibility/reputation benefits; financial benefits; and long-term viability benefits. The IRP model shows that the element of KR is the most important when evaluated against these three benefit themes.

Linking GBM elements and benefits will help companies in the construction sector to analyse the business case of embracing environmental sustainability.

This research is one of the few empirical academic works investigating the benefits of GBMs in the construction sector. The IRP method is a novel contribution to GBMs and construction research.

Sustainability has the potential to bring enormous benefits to our built environment. To release this potential, a change in business models is required. The purpose of this paper is to investigate green business models (GBMs) transformation by adopting five essential elements of green value creation and capture: green value proposition (GVP), target group (TG), key activities (KA), key resources (KR), and financial logic (FL).

In this qualitative study, 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interviewees were selected purposively. The emergent data were analysed with the aid of themes.

It was observed that significant effort was being made towards enabling the transformation of certain elements pertinent to green value creation: KA and KR. This was particularly so when compared to other elements like GVP, TG, and FL.

Findings from this study should encourage construction managers to align their extant BMs to green activities hence enabling new approaches to green value creation and capture. Furthermore, the study will aid in improving the environmental and economic positions of the value chain within the construction sector.

This research is one of the few empirical academic works investigating GBMs in the construction sector.