Adapteon's Lina K. Wiles is an expert, doctor and visionary who promotes the establishment of circular economy principles for the entire construction industry.
Many companies like to talk about their goals in the field of responsibility and sustainable development, but can business growth really be truly sustainable? Adapteo's director of sustainable development By Lina K. Wiles the answer is simple and at the same time challenging: yes, you can, but it requires a change in mindset and bold solutions.
"I am convinced that many companies in the construction industry also have the conditions to take on the global sustainability challenge and even lead change. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve this. Moving to a circular economy model requires companies to make difficult decisions and big changes," Wiles reflects.
Wiles has fresh evidence to support his claim, as at the end of September he led Adapteo's delegation at the UN General Assembly's Climate Week. There, in his opinion, it became clear that circular economy models are still more goals than concrete reality for most companies, although some are already talking about them very confidently.
But who exactly is Lina K. Wiles and with what credentials does she speak about sustainable development? Wiles, who started working for Adapteo in 2023, has a rather atypical professional background for a leader in the construction industry. He has a PhD in chemical ecology and ecotoxicology, and he has been involved as an expert in developing the international ChemSec's SiN list of harmful chemicals.
Wiles has also worked as an environmental and sustainability strategy consultant and gained versatile experience in various industries. Before Adapteo, he has led responsibility work in companies in the food packaging and textile service industries, among others.
At Adapteo, Wiles' primary goal is to increase the circular economy, reduce the resource and climate footprint, while creating value for the people and communities that use Adapteo's modular buildings.
The solution is reusable modular spaces
Adapteo offers modular spaces as a rental service. Reuse is at the heart of the business model, as between rental cycles the modules are renovated to look like new and meet the new customer's requirements. The model helps to use natural resources more efficiently and reduce material waste and the need for new construction. It also reduces the carbon footprint considerably.
Recent life cycle calculations show that the carbon footprint of Adapteo's new modular building is up to 60 percent smaller compared to a corresponding permanent building. But if the building is made from reused and refurbished Adapteo modules, its material-based carbon footprint is as much as 97 percent smaller than a new, permanent building.
The climate impacts of buildings made from reused modules are also always low enough to meet the global goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
"We believe that you can achieve more with less. We offer flexible, reusable spaces that adapt to the customer's changing needs. At the same time, we believe that our circular economy models and solutions can help build more sustainable communities in the long term."
"An important part of this work is sharing information and influencing attitudes. For example, during UN Climate Week, we presented solutions to inspire other companies and industries to think about how to be more efficient, produce less waste and act in a way that benefits society as a whole."
The circular economy thrives through partnerships
Wiles' expertise and work in sustainable business has also been quoted outside of Adapteo and the construction industry. He works as an instructor at Cambridge University's Sustainable Development Management Program (CISL), where he teaches business professionals about sustainability management.
In recent years, Adapteo has taken big steps towards more and more responsible operations, and the efforts have been recognized with the Gold EcoVadis medal and most recently with a five-star GRESB Infrastructure Asset rating.
Adapteo annually conducts comprehensive assessments of the carbon footprint of its entire value chain and is committed to reducing its emissions Science-based targets in accordance with the requirements of the initiative. This year, the company will switch to using 100 percent renewable electricity. In addition, Adapteo aims to make its operations and transport fossil-free by 2030.
However, the biggest challenges are related to the indirect aspects of the company scope 3 - emissions, which make up the majority of companies' total emissions.
"We know that the use of materials and energy are the biggest sources of our climate impact, and therefore we need to focus on how we choose and use materials and energy. This also means a deep adoption of circular economy principles and a focus on reuse."
Wiles emphasizes the importance of cooperation in promoting sustainable development. A traditional, linear economy is a purely transactional relationship, while a circular economy is based on partnerships with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders. Common goals and innovative solutions are central parts of the circular economy.
The vision is recycling instead of disposal
And what will the construction industry look like in 2035? Wiles' vision is clear: the industry operates fully in accordance with the principles of the circular economy and has broken away from the use of fossil resources.
Adapteon's facilities as a service business model already offers customers the flexibility to adapt their facilities to changing needs and reduce environmental impact at the same time. In the future, this operating model based on the circular economy will be the standard, not the exception.
“Transition from linear take-use-lose-thinking reduce-reuse-recyclemodel is necessary if we really want to solve the climate crisis. Responsible resource management is absolutely important, as about half of the global carbon footprint is related to materials and products. That's what the circular economy is all about."
"When we present Adapteo's responsible and successful business model, we hope to act as an example and inspire others in the industry to adopt circular economy practices," states Wiles.