On 28 October 2026, the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA) and the Business Environment Council (BEC) successfully co-organised the CPD Seminar "CIRCO: Creating Business through Circular Design", in collaboration with CIRCO International. Thank you to over 260 professionals who joined us either in person or online!

Much of a building's material value is determined at the design stage, yet this value is often lost through demolition waste, unrecoverable materials and short-lived fit-outs. The seminar introduced CIRCO, a hands-on methodology from the Netherlands that helps design and project teams identify opportunities to retain material value and develop circular business models. The method has already been used by more than 3,500 companies and 900 creative professionals worldwide.

We were honoured to welcome Ms. Ineke Kleemans, Deputy Consul General of the Netherlands to Hong Kong and Macau, as our special guest. She attended the seminar and gave participants a brief introduction to CIRCO.

The seminar explored the role of circularity in Hong Kong's sustainability journey, the international application of the CIRCO methodology and its practical implementation. Mr. Pieter van Os of CIRCO International joined online to introduce the methodology and explain how CIRCO Tracks are conducted internationally. Ar. Dr. Tony Ip shared practical insights into architects' role in advancing circular design, the challenges and trade-offs encountered in real projects, and how circularity can be incorporated into procurement and tender requirements. Mr. Ivan Chiu then introduced the Hong Kong CIRCO Track and outlined how local practices could participate.

The presentations were followed by a panel discussion moderated by Ar. MK Leung, which challenged common assumptions about circular buildings, explored how to encourage developers to embrace circularity and highlighted practical actions that participants could apply to their future projects.

We were also pleased to have Ar. Anna Kwong, Former President of HKIA, join the seminar and present certificates of appreciation to all speakers in recognition of their valuable contributions.

Our sincere thanks to our distinguished guests, speakers, moderator, co-organiser BEC, collaborating partner CIRCO International and all participants for contributing to this meaningful professional exchange.