Assessing Australian Construction Industry’s Stormwater Management Policy Coherence and Coordination in the Lens of Circular Economy: Fid-Bau Portal

Assessing Australian Construction Industry’s Stormwater Management Policy Coherence and Coordination in the Lens of Circular Economy

Karunasena, Gayani / Lu, Yi

Abstract

The transition towards sustainable cities can be done by achieving a circular economy model for resource management. In “Recycling Victoria—A new economy” which was issued by the Victorian Government (Australia) in 2020, the State’s aspiration of circular economy principles was reaffirmed. Beyond this, VicWater also stated that the Victorian water industry should deepen its participation in the circular economy. Construction activities not only consume large amount of water, but also generate liquid waste (i.e., stormwater, groundwater and wash water from trade activities) that is detrimental to environment and human health. The challenge of water scarcity and liquid waste’s harmful impact highlights the urgency for construction industry’s transition toward water circularity. However, it is unclear whether the existing construction industry’s stormwater management policy can accommodate the concept of circular economy. This study thus examines policy coherence and coordination in the lens of the circular economy in Victoria (Australia). The assessment is conducted via content analysis of policy instruments. Policy coherence is explored through examining whether policy objectives are shared across different stakeholder sectors’ policies, and the degree to which they are consistent with circular economy principles. Policy coordination is assessed via policy network analysis across stakeholders and policy instruments. Several deficiencies in the construction industry’s liquid waste management policy landscape have emerged. In general, there is a lack of construction industry-specific policy instruments, with most collected policies applicable to all business types. In addition, the existing policy framework appears to be poorly consistent with circular economy principles, especially with a lack of considering CE principles “recovery”, “recycling” and “rethinking”. Furthermore, there is a general disconnect between different stakeholder groups in the current policies. Only very few studies have investigated the regulatory requirements regarding construction stormwater management. This study thus contributes to the existing literature by offering an in-depth understanding of Australian construction industry’s policy framework. Further, it also contributes to the Australian construction and urban design community by guiding the improvement of construction industry’s stormwater management policies.