Circular and Future-Adaptive Facilities

Introduction 

The built environment is facing unprecedented challenges arising from climate change, rapid technological advancement, resource scarcity, urbanisation, and evolving societal expectations. In response, Facilities Management (FM) has emerged as a critical discipline capable of supporting the long-term sustainability, resilience, and adaptability of buildings and infrastructure. As organisations seek to optimise asset performance while responding to environmental and social imperatives, there is an increasing need for innovative FM approaches that embrace circularity, digital transformation, and future-oriented management practices.

This Special Issue, Circular and Future-Adaptive Facilities, brings together scholarly contributions that explore how Facilities Management can facilitate the transition towards more resilient, resource-efficient, and adaptable built environments. Developed in conjunction with the Facilities Management Futures (FMF) 2026 Conference held in Sri Lanka on 22nd May 2026, the issue reflects a growing recognition that FM must move beyond its traditional operational role to become a strategic enabler of sustainable development and long-term value creation.

The concept of circularity is gaining prominence across the built environment sector as stakeholders seek to minimise waste, maximise resource efficiency, and extend the useful life of assets. At the same time, buildings and infrastructure must be designed, operated, and maintained to respond effectively to future uncertainties, including climate-related risks, technological disruption, changing user requirements, and evolving regulatory frameworks. Facilities Management is uniquely positioned to integrate these objectives through lifecycle thinking, adaptive asset strategies, and evidence-based decision-making.

Recent advances in digital technologies, including Building Information Modelling (BIM), digital twins, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and data-driven analytics, have further expanded the capabilities of FM professionals. These technologies offer new opportunities to enhance building performance, optimise maintenance processes, improve safety outcomes, support energy efficiency, and strengthen organisational resilience. However, significant challenges remain in translating these innovations into integrated and scalable FM practices capable of delivering measurable environmental, social, and economic benefits.

Against this backdrop, this Special Issue seeks to advance both theoretical understanding and practical applications of circular and future-adaptive Facilities Management. The issue welcomes contributions that investigate topics such as lifecycle value optimisation, digital transformation, climate resilience, sustainable building operations, energy efficiency, safety and risk management, waste reduction, and wellbeing-centred facility strategies. Collectively, these themes reflect the evolving role of FM in addressing complex global challenges while enhancing the performance and sustainability of the built environment.

Importantly, the Special Issue contributes to broader societal goals by supporting sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, innovation in infrastructure, economic productivity, and occupant wellbeing. Through the publication of high-quality empirical research, conceptual studies, and industry-focused case analyses, this collection aims to stimulate dialogue among researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and industry leaders, ultimately shaping the future direction of Facilities Management in an increasingly dynamic and interconnected world.

List of Topic Areas

• Redefining building performance and lifecycle value through Facilities Management.
• Digital transformation in Facilities Management.
• Integrating climate resilience and future-adaptive strategies in FM.
• Sustainable building operations and innovations in energy efficiency.
• Integrated safety, risk, waste, and emission management for total wellbeing.

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here.

Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here.

Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to”.

Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

Key Deadlines

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 07/06/2026

Closing date for manuscripts submission: 07/12/2026   

Guest Editors

H W N Madhusanka, Department of Facilities Management, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, nandunm@uom.lk 

Nayanthara De Silva, Department of Facilities Management, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, endds@uom.lk 

Joseph H.K. Lai, Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, bejlai@polyu.edu.hk