A comparative analysis of legal frameworks for circularity in the built environment: a large language model-assisted study of nine jurisdictions supporting the sustainable development goals

Abstract

The high consumption of raw materials and the generation of construction and demolition waste (CDW) represent significant sustainability challenges. The circular economy (CE) offers a promising pathway but requires effective legislation. Although considerable attention has been devoted to the technical and economic aspects of CE, comparative analyses of national regulatory frameworks remain scarce. This study addresses this gap by conducting a comparative analysis of the regulatory environments of nine countries: Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Türkiye. With a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) architecture based on a large language model (LLM), national and regional legal texts were analysed and fact-checked by experts. The results reveal substantial differences in regulatory maturity, enforcement mechanisms, and data platforms, resulting in the identification of three country clusters. The findings indicate that effective CDW management depends on legislative harmonisation, institutional capacity, data openness, and economic incentives. In addition, the study suggests that LLMs can serve as powerful instruments for comparative legal analysis in multilingual sustainability research.