Catherine E. Bond
Colorado State University, PhD in Systems Engineering
EREF Scholar 2025
Analyzing Material Tradeoffs and Existing Material Banks in the Urban Built Environment to Develop Decision-Support Tools to Inform Circular Economy Policy and Building Codes
To achieve circular economy in the built environment, a holistic approach is required. We need to simultaneously create and improve markets and systems for the recycling and reuse of existing building materials and strategically select our methods and materials in construction so that we can reuse a greater percentage of building materials in the future.
My research project will support the transition to a circular built environment with near-term and long-term lenses. For the near-term lens, I will develop a decision-support tool for municipalities that wish to develop or improve their deconstruction policies. This tool will use the age of the building, square footage, and structural materials to estimate the existing materials that will be available for reuse over time. This tool can support market development, policy, and building codes for building material reuse and recycling.
In the long term, we need to shift the materials and methods for building construction now and in the future. For example, current construction materials and methods that improve operational energy efficiency tend to reduce the ability for material reuse. This research project seeks to understand the tradeoffs and opportunities for construction materials and methods related to sustainability outcomes (operational energy efficiency, embodied carbon, material reuse, etc.). This information can support the development of new products and construction methods.
The impact of this research will be to create decision-support tools and research that can be used to write targeted deconstruction policies, reduce landfill waste, and inform building codes and practices that support a holistic, sustainable built environment.
Biography
Katie Bond has a Master’s in Construction Management from Colorado State University. Her thesis compared wood waste diversion for volumetric modular construction and traditional construction methods. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Sustainable Systems Engineering at CSU. Her research is aimed at developing decision support tools to inform local and regional circular economy policy development. As a Master’s student, Katie had the opportunity to work with her advisor to develop an undergraduate course, ‘Circularity in the Built Environment,’ and she is now co-teaching the course. She is a member of Recycle Colorado’s Construction and Deconstruction Council, a group that informs deconstruction policy in Colorado. During her time at the Institute for the Built Environment, Katie has had several opportunities to work with collaborative teams at multiple levels (building, institutional, city/ county, and state) to further their sustainability goals. Her work in collaborative stakeholder workshops has informed her view on the importance of engaging community, industry, and government when working toward community sustainability goals.
