Dr Abraham Zhang and Professor Ming Lim, both from the Services and Operations Management cluster, are leading a new research project that explores how digital product passports can support a circular economy in social housing.

The construction sector uses more than half of all materials in the UK and generates over 60% of total waste. Buildings and their operations contribute around 40% of the UK’s carbon footprint. Reducing this impact will take more than better materials. It calls for new systems that support reuse, recovery and low-carbon design.

Digital product passports, or DPPs, could be a solution. These are digital records that track the materials and components used in a building over its entire life. They show what’s there, how it was used and whether it can be recovered. DPPs could make it much easier to reuse or recycle materials at the end of a building’s life.

This project focuses on Scotland’s social housing, which makes up 23% of the housing stock. The team is working with the Wheatley Group, the largest provider of social housing in Scotland. Together, they will explore what needs to change technically, practically and in policy to make DPPs work.

The project is funded by Scotland Beyond Net Zero and also involves researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University.

By investigating how DPPs can be applied in practice, the team aims to support a faster shift to circular supply chains and net-zero buildings in Scotland’s cities.

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For further information, please contact business-school-research@glasgow.ac.uk 

First published: 18 August 2025

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