Construction project management with a circular economy and waste minimisation focus. A bibliometric analysis of its evolution and research trends

Abstract

Material cycle management in construction projects drives emissions and value losses, while demolition and site waste flows exceed disposal capacity in several markets. This study aimed to describe and quantitatively analyse the evolution of the literature on circular practices applied to project management and their relationship with waste prevention and valorisation. We conducted bibliometric mapping in Scopus. The search on 23/12/2025 retrieved 814 records from 2001 to 2026, analysed using Bibliometrix 5.1.1, VOSviewer 1.6.20, and RPYS. The corpus includes 230 sources and shows 9.65% annual growth, with 465 articles and 126 reviews. It involves 2,680 authors, 7.89 co-authors per document, and 27.4% international co-authorship. The average impact reaches 24.35 citations per document, with 1,972 author keywords and 5,645 references. Output concentrates from 2020 to 2025 with 749 documents, representing 92.0% of the total, and peaks in 2025 with 245 documents. The thematic map positions waste management and demolition as motor themes, alongside life cycle assessment, BIM, recycled materials, and digital tools. The findings highlight the priority of early decisions in design, procurement, and end of life to reduce material losses and improve traceability.