London – September 2025 — The Circular Leaders Group (CLG), co-founded by Arup and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, has entered its second phase, marking a pivotal moment in the transition toward a circular built environment. The initiative is designed to foster collaboration across the entire value chain, from finance and materials to design, construction, and property, ensuring that circular principles are embedded in mainstream business models.
Expanding Collaboration Across Sectors
The new CLG cohort includes a wide range of organizations spanning the public and private sectors. Members include Axa, Biomimicry 3.8, Cemex, City of London Corporation, Danfoss, Dorte Mandrup, EDHEC Business School, Holcim, Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, Intesa Sanpaolo, Peiner Träger GmbH, Rabobank, Saint-Gobain, Urban Partners, and VELUX.
By engaging diverse players, the CLG strengthens its role as a platform for skills sharing, joint projects, and scalable solutions that accelerate the adoption of circular practices.
A Radical Business Focus
According to Martin Pauli, Arup’s global circular economy services leader:
“We are entering a pivotal moment with the second year of the CLG. Collaboration remains at the heart of driving transformation across the construction ecosystem, but what sets this stage apart is a radical business focus – ensuring that circular principles are not only tested in pilots but embedded into the very fundamentals of client businesses. By supporting pioneers to scale beyond pilots, we can accelerate widespread circular adoption and demonstrate that this shift is not just possible, but a resilient and competitive business model for the future.”
From Playbook to Practice
The first CLG cohort produced the Reuse Playbook, a practical guide for material and product reuse, which is now in its final stages of development. Building on this foundation, phase two will focus on high-impact projects and sector-wide change, while continuing connections with the Circular Buildings Coalition and industry thought leaders.
At the kick-off workshop, members explored how to “turn up the volume” on circularity, identifying priority areas such as:
- Scaling circular business models to achieve systemic change.
- Renovating building stock with nature-positive designs.
- Accelerating the adoption of circular solutions beyond pilot projects.
Driving Systemic Change
By bringing together expertise in finance, design, engineering, materials, and policy, the Circular Leaders Group aims to demonstrate that circularity is not only achievable but also economically competitive and environmentally essential.
The second phase underscores the CLG’s ambition to shift the built environment toward a resilient, low-carbon, and resource-positive future.
