The product-service system approach for housing in a circular economy: An literature review

Housing practices are forcing accelerated demand for natural resources and flow-on effects contribute to severe environmental consequences. Transition to a Circular Economy (CE) offers some respite from this mounting pressure. To date, however, efforts to implement a CE have primarily focused on addressing the technical challenges associated with the long lifespan and complexity of buildings, overlooking the domain of housing. Research suggests that new business models should be developed as a precursor to embracing circularity. The Product-Service System (PSS) is one such promising business model. Yet, it is not well understood from the perspective of circular housing, with the existing literature scattered across several research streams. Using an integrative review approach, this paper investigates the concept of PSS and CE within the context of housing to describe their interrelationships and inform an integrated understanding of PSS as it applies to housing in a CE. A conceptual framework is proposed that discusses the PSS as a potentially viable life cycle approach to promote efficiency, longevity, and sufficiency for creating a CE in housing in three levels of energy, material, and space use. This paper further discusses renewed economic and social value proposition of PSS and how a transition to PSS practices may impact the housing industry's organisational arrangement. Finally, this paper critiques the state of the literature on this phenomenon, reveals gaps, and points to directions for future research, practice, and policy development.