The linear economy model that is generally practised in the construction industry is one of the main reasons hindering the achievement of sustainability in construction. Alternatively, the Circular Economy (CE) model is becoming a promising approach to achieve sustainable construction, in which materials and products are circulated at their highest economic value and, thereby, contribute towards mitigating the negative economic, social, and environmental impacts of the construction industry. For a successful transition towards CE in the construction industry, it is important not only to understand CE practices that could be implemented across different stages of the life cycle of construction projects, but also to understand how a particular practice relates to another at those stages. Having limited studies identifying such relationships, this study aims to improve the successful implementation of CE practices in the construction industry by comprehending the practices, along with their relationships, throughout the project life cycle. A qualitative research method consisting of a systematic literature review was adopted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework to identify CE practices. Amongst the identified highly cited CE practices applicable to construction projects, design for disassembly, design for adaptability and flexibility, and design for manufacture and assembly ended up being the most significant ones. Consequently, a relationship matrix was developed, highlighting the relationships among the highly cited practices. The matrix emphasises that practices applied in the design stage relate frequently to ones at the following stages, necessitating projects to start with proper planning. This study ultimately assists construction industry stakeholders in successfully and rationally implementing CE practices throughout the project life cycle while enhancing the value addition on the economy, society, and environment.

Purpose: Numerous barriers have hindered circular economy (CE) implementation in various contexts, in particular, in the construction industry. Among those barriers, the confusion of CE terminologies together with a lack of awareness is identified as one of the main barriers. Hence, this research focuses on differentiating frequently misused CE terminologies based on their definitions to establish a comprehensive understanding and thereby aims to develop a taxonomy for CE terminologies. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was adopted encompassing a comparative literature analysis followed by an expert validation. To carry out the comparison, the academic definitions from Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries were compared and contrasted with the definitions from universal standards and guides or literature sources related to CE. Subsequently, the consolidated definitions were established for selected terminologies, and based on their cognitive meaning, a conceptual hierarchy of the terminologies was identified. These definitions with the identified hierarchy were validated by a selected panel of experts who had expertise in CE in construction and represented academia, industry and policy development sectors to finally propose the taxonomy of CE terminologies. Findings: The final CE taxonomy presents nine frequently misused terminologies, their definitions and the hierarchical order. This paper further offers examples of the practical usage of each defined terminology based on insights from the construction industry. Originality/value: The proposed taxonomy can be applied to any context and provides significant guidance for any CE researcher or practitioner on the appropriate usage of CE terminologies.

The construction sector predominantly follows a linear economic model, which necessitates a shift towards embracing the Circular Economy (CE) principles. Even though several CE approaches have been introduced for the construction context, numerous barriers have hindered their implementation. Confusion of CE terminologies with a lack of awareness is identified as one of the main barriers to the successful implementation of CE in the construction industry. Hence, this research focuses on differentiating the CE terminologies based on their academic definitions to establish a consolidated and comprehensive understanding and thereby, aims to develop a taxonomy for CE terminologies for the construction industry. This research adopted qualitative comparative literature analysis research methodology and selected individualising comparison as a suitable comparison method. To carry out the comparison, the academic definitions from Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries were compared with the definitions from CE-related construction articles. Subsequently, the consolidated definitions were established for selected terminologies by differentiating their ideas. Consequently, the hierarchy of the terminologies was identified to develop a CE taxonomy. This research provides significant guidance for CE researchers for appropriate CE terminology usage in their research, while industry practitioners can gain a wider understanding of CE for its successful implementation in the industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left a significant impact on the survival of the global construction industry and its stakeholders including quantity surveyors. Outsourcing is recognised as a business strategy which can be tried for consultants quantity surveying organisations for surviving in the construction industry during a pandemic period. Due to the absence of previous studies that evaluated the effectiveness of outsourcing consultants quantity surveying activities in the Sri Lankan context following the pandemic, this study intends to fill the aforementioned research gap. As a result, the research was aimed at examining the feasibility of outsourcing key consultants' quantity surveying activities in the Sri Lankan context following the pandemic. A thorough literature review was carried out in order to investigate the possibility of outsourcing key consultant quantity surveying activities in Sri Lanka during the post-pandemic era. To achieve the goal of this research, a mixed-method approach with structured expert interviews and a questionnaire survey was used. Thematic analysis using QSR Nvivo version 12 software and the RII method was used to analyse the data. The most suitable activities for outsourcing in Sri Lanka during the post-pandemic era were identified as BIM model creation, BOQ preparation, and BOQ verification. The study's findings revealed the possibility of outsourcing the quantity surveying activities of consultants in Sri Lanka during the post-pandemic era. Furthermore, the findings of this study can be used to identify prevalent motivating factors for introducing or improving the outsourcing concept as well as to put into practice within consultant quantity surveying organisations.