Circular design cuts carbon and transforms office fit-outs

This is the second article in the series: Making workplaces work - for people, performance and the planet.

As commercial real estate sharpens its focus on net-zero targets, embodied carbon – the emissions arising from materials extraction, production and installation – is attracting overdue attention.

By minimising change, waste and resource use, fit-outs can significantly cut their carbon impact. Yet, despite growing awareness, the industry still lacks consistent measurement standards for these emissions.

Recognising this gap, JLL set out a strategy to reduce the embodied carbon of its own office fit-outs, by embedding circular economy principles into its projects in 2019. This work began in collaboration with Business in the Community (BITC) to develop some of the first practical circular fit-out guidance for the market.

“We consulted with industry bodies to help shape the approach at a time when sector benchmarks did not exist,” says Stuart Cochrane, UK Workplace Sustainability Lead at JLL. “We developed a methodology to measure, understand and learn from applying these solutions in one fit-out to inform the next.”

The 2020 Manchester office project marked JLL's first practical application of circular principles. By removing suspended ceilings and sourcing furniture from the secondary market, the team reduced material use and cut the project’s carbon impact by 38%. But it also exposed gaps in data and processes that needed addressing.

By 2022, JLL applied its newly developed Embodied Carbon and Circular Fit-Out Guide at its Canary Wharf office.

The design focused on keeping cellular spaces close to the building’s core, reducing construction and limiting mechanical and ventilation system (HVAC) runs. More than 80% of the furniture was reused and new and recycled low-carbon materials like Durat worktops and Buxkin (a sustainable architectural acoustic material) were prioritised.

A key learning from this project was that HVAC can make up a significant part of a fit-out's embodied carbon.

"We positioned the majority of the smaller meeting rooms, huddle rooms and enclosed spaces around the building's core, which made sense spatially, but we didn’t fully appreciate at the time the extent of the embodied carbon saving from this way of thinking," says Nikhil Dhumma, EMEA CRE Design and Programme Director, JLL.

In 2023, Birmingham became the first project to integrate RIBA design stage assessments, identifying carbon reduction opportunities earlier in the process and reducing the impact overall by more than half (53%).

By 2024, in Leeds, the team delivered the most circular and lowest-carbon fit-out yet. Furniture was reused wherever possible and chairs were remanufactured, saving 65% of embodied carbon compared with new.

“Not having to construct a dedicated room for IT saved on plant, cooling systems, fire suppression – it made a real difference,” says Tish Scott, Design Manager at Tétris Design x Build, a JLL company.

Being an early mover has meant confronting challenges that others in the industry had yet to tackle, from procurement and supply chain readiness to project delivery timelines.

“We realised we had to do something different,” says Areti Makantasi, Director, Sustainable Asset Services, JLL. “When you embed circularity at the beginning, it informs the entire design and procurement process, not just the material choices.”

JLL’s own offices have become a proving ground for circular design and the team’s experiences are shaping emerging industry benchmarks, helping to bring much-needed clarity on how adopting a circular approach can drive down embodied carbon.

"Once we've done it, we've refined it, tweaked it. We've learned lessons. We've implemented them in the next project. We're constantly looking for improvements on what we've done before," adds Dhumma.

The journey continues at 1 Broadgate, JLL’s new flagship office opening in 2026, where circularity has moved from principle to requirement.

One of the key goals was to embrace 'urban mining': sourcing materials from the secondary market and designing flexibly enough to incorporate them as they became available. But the reuse marketplace remains fragmented, and reliable product information is often hard to come by. While digital product passporting legislation is helping improve transparency in the EU, 1 Broadgate is, in part, testing how far the market can go in the UK and highlighting where gaps remain.

“The entire design and construction teams aligned with our ambition – collaboration is key,” adds Cochrane.
 

Listen to JLL discuss circular economy approaches at 1 Broadgate on the Footprint+ podcast

Not only has JLL shaped its own estate around circular principles, it’s strengthening the advice and services it offers to clients who increasingly recognise that circular fit-outs not only help meet sustainability goals but improve workplace quality and employee experience.

“Second life doesn’t mean second best,” says Cochrane. “You’ve got to convince people who’ve been doing things the same way for many years that they’re not going to get something that compromises the look and feel of their office.”

Circular fit-outs may not yet be mainstream but JLL’s experience demonstrates that with the right approach, meaningful embodied carbon reductions are both achievable and scalable.

Learn more about end-to end circular fit-outs. 

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