5. Circular construction in the Nordic countries

The circular economy is a key pillar of the sustainability agenda in the Nordic countries, with the construction sector regarded as having significant potential. The following sections outline the framework conditions for and state of circular construction in the Nordic countries.

5.1. Denmark

5.1.1. Framework conditions for circular construction

Policy & strategy

Denmark’s Climate Plan for a Green Waste Sector and Circular Economy (Klimaplan for en Grøn Affaldssektor og Cirkulær Økonomi, (Regeringen, 2020)) describes the main strategy for the circular economy in Denmark. It builds on earlier work in the Strategy for a Circular Economy (Regeringen, 2018) and the results and recommendations of the Advisory Board for a Circular Economy (ABCE, 2017).

The construction sector is noted as having an important role to play in the transition to a circular economy since it produces approximately one third of all waste in Denmark and is responsible for a significant amount of total resource use in the country, and has the potential for reduction in the same.

In particular, the Climate Plan for a Green Waste Sector and Circular Economy calls for the introduction of standardised demolition plans and demands on competencies for selective demolition in order to ensure that valuable materials can be captured and reused and recycled rather than “recovered” as aggregate for roads and other infrastructure projects (Regeringen, 2020). These initiatives were implemented in the Action Plan for a Circular Economy (Miljøministeriet, 2021). This Action Plan contains 129 specific initiatives to drive the circular economy in Denmark up until 2032. One central component focuses on sustainable construction, which includes 20 initiatives under five themes, most of which are relevant to circular construction. However, the following are particularly relevant:

100. Further support for the VCØB (2021)

101. Development of a voluntary sustainability class for buildings (2022)

102. Limitation of values for life cycle CO2 emissions from new buildings (2023–2029)

103. Further development of LCC and LCA tools (2024)

106. Holistic evaluation for renovation (2023)

108. Demands for standardised selective demolition plans and competency demands for selective demolition (2023)

109. Demand for selective demolition (2022)

110. Safe and healthy reuse of buildings (2023)

113. Clear rules enhancing the traceability of construction and demolition waste (2021)

Several of the above initiatives are part of The National Strategy for Sustainable Construction (National Strategi for Bæredygtig Byggeri, (IM, 2021)) which describes 21 specific initiatives to strengthen sustainable construction in Denmark. Of these, five are directed squarely at driving circular construction under the title Durable high-quality buildings in order to:

Analyse the potential for more sustainable construction (a green check of the Eurocodes)
Seeks to ensure that the use of Eurocodes does not lead to unnecessary material use, and that revision of the Eurocodes facilitates sustainable construction while maintaining safety standards.
Ensure safe and healthy reuse in construction.
Seeks to move existing building waste and recycling up the waste hierarchy by exploring best-practice cases in reuse, developing a material and building passport coordinated with similar efforts in the Nordic countries and the EU, and developing closer ties along and among the construction value chain in order to identify barriers and develop solutions.
Promote climate-friendly construction materials.
Uses different approaches to facilitate the further development and implementation of timber in construction, with a primary focus on buildings with up to five floors, together with efforts to quantify the environmental benefits of timber as a building material.
Develop more accurate environmental data on materials.
Seeks to provide more reliable and broader environmental information on building and construction products, primarily through developing and supporting more widespread use of EPDs and ensuring that the underlying data reflects actual production conditions.
Perform holistic assessments for refurbishments.
Will develop more robust tools to support the decision to either renovate or demolish and rebuild, for example, using a more holistic approach to assessing the entire building’s life cycle, including embodied energy and the influence of material decisions. This initiative will also investigate the primary reasons for demolition in the current construction paradigm.
Reduce the waste of materials on construction sites.
This initiative will analyse waste generation on construction sites, which will provide the basis for specific initiatives targeting problematic fractions, including through induced collaboration.

All six initiatives should be finalised by 2024 at the latest.

A fundamental pillar of the National Strategy for Sustainable Construction is the phased introduction of minimum life cycle emissions standards for new buildings, which was introduced to the market in January 2023. These define specific targets for buildings under and over 1000 m² and set standards for a voluntary sustainability class of buildings that go beyond the baseline demands. LCA calculations will be necessary for any new construction starting in 2023. An LCA calculation tool, LCAbyg, has been developed and is accessible online for free together with instruction videos and continuous updates (LCAbyg, u.d.).

The principle behind the targets is to move away from a singular focus on in-use energy consumption and to integrate the embodied energy in construction products as an important part of all the life cycle emissions. This is especially relevant as energy for heating, lighting, and power increasingly comes from renewable sources. For projects over 1000 m², a threshold limit value is set at 12 kg CO₂-eq/m²/year. Every two years the limit value will be reduced further, and after 2025 it will also include smaller projects (IM, 2021).

These targets have, however, been criticised for lacking ambition: critics claim that the targets are largely in line with current developments within the building industry and therefore do not provide any additional impetus to decrease overall life cycle emissions (Kjerulf, 2022). Initially, the new calculation model included no provision for reused materials and elements—they were conferred the same CO₂ emissions as new products within the calculation model (BR, 2022). This will be rectified in an amendment coming into force in 2024 (Social-, Bolig- og Ældreministeriet, 2023).

Building regulations

The Danish Construction Law, which legislates the construction of buildings in Denmark, (Social-, Bolig- og Ældreministeriet, 2016) is implemented through the Danish Building Regulations (BR, 2020), which define the technical criteria that buildings and the construction process must meet. They currently do not contain any specific provisions that address the challenges of circular economy in construction. All buildings, materials, and components must meet the technical standards defined in BR18.

In November 2021, the Construction Law was amended to include the following components in BR18 (Social-, Bolig- og Ældreministeriet, 2021):

Demands on life cycle analysis and CO₂ limit values.
Demands on total economic analysis (life cycle costing).
Demands on resource use at construction sites.
Demands on documentation for problematic (hazardous) substances in construction materials.

Together, these provide for the inclusion of sustainable and, to some extent, circular parameters in the Danish Building Regulations. At the time of writing, only the demands for life cycle assessment and CO₂ limit values have been implemented; they entered into force on 1^st January 2023. These implement the targets set in the National Strategy for Sustainable Construction. The other criteria have not yet been implemented in BR18, although steps are being taken to develop criteria under the above areas.

Work has begun to lay the groundwork for a new regulation in 2023 that mandates selective demolition. The exact nature of the regulation is not yet known, and there will be ongoing industry consultation on the development of the regulation.

Public Procurement

Public procurement for buildings and infrastructure comprises about one sixth of the total public procurement budget and is responsible for approximately 2.6 million of the 12 million tonnes of associated greenhouse gas emissions—it is the single largest contributor (Regeringen, 2020). As such, buildings and infrastructure are a key area of focus for green public procurement. Most effort has so far been placed on highlighting the role of energy consumption, although other sustainability criteria for buildings and construction are beginning to receive more attention.

Waste regulation

Danish municipalities are responsible for the classification of waste by determining whether an article is waste, and thereafter what type of waste it is (Miljøministeriet, 2021). Furthermore, the municipality is also responsible for determining when a material ceases to be waste: the waste must be destined for use in a specific application, or there must be a market or demand for the material or item, the material or item must meet the technical requirements, legal requirements, and norms for that specific application, and the application of the material or item must not negatively affect the environment or be a health hazard (Affaldsbekendtgørelse, Article 6) (Miljøministeriet, 2021).

Danish waste legislation (Affaldsbekendtgørelse, Chapter 11) (Miljøministeriet, 2021) demands that a screening and mapping of hazardous substances (e.g., PCBs, chlorinated paraffins, PAHs, asbestos, and heavy metals) be carried out and filed with authorities before any building, renovation, or demolition work can begin. This mapping only addresses the presence of hazardous materials and does not address potentially reusable components or materials. However, as indicated above, this will be addressed soon with mandatory material mapping and obligatory standardised demolition plans.

Article 35 of the Danish waste regulations demands that municipalities ensure that construction and demolition waste is reused, recycled, or used in another material recovery process. As per Article 63, construction companies must also separate waste into the following categories: stone, tile and brick, concrete, mixed mineral, metal, plasterboard, mineral wool, earth and soil, asphalt, and mixed concrete and asphalt. (Miljøministeriet, 2021)

The regulation on the utilisation of waste products (Restproduktbekendtgørelsen) provides more targeted regulation on the reuse, recycling, and utilisation of construction and demolition waste (Miljøministeriet, 2016). Annex 6 states that uncontaminated construction and demolition waste such as bricks, tiles, and plasterboard can be reused for their original or similar purpose without prior authorisation and may be stored on the demolition site for a maximum of 12 months.

Standardisation

Danish Standard, the Danish standardisation body, holds the secretariate for the CEN/TC 350/SC1, the European Committee for Standardization’s working group developing standards for the Circular Economy in the Construction Sector (CEN, u.d.). This positions Denmark at the centre of developing the coming standards that will govern the construction industry for the whole EU.

Nordic collaboration

Danish authorities are managing Work Package 5 in the Nordic Council of Minister collaboration project Nordic Sustainable Construction (Nordic Sustainable Construction, u.d.) together with representatives from other Nordic countries. The focus is on collaboration and knowledge sharing. In addition, in 2023-2024 a new project will be launched that will produce supplementary training material to increase the skills in vocational education regarding the use of reused construction materials when dealing with old, refurbished, or new buildings.

Networks and support mechanisms

A variety of networks, organisations and knowledge centres support circular construction in Denmark. These include the following:

Videncenter for Cirkulær Økonomi i Byggeriet – (VCØB) is a knowledge centre and network that supports and promotes circularity in the construction industry (VCØB, u.d.). It collects, develops, and communicates experience and knowledge about the circular economy in the construction industry in Denmark. It targets the whole construction value chain, which includes public and private owners, architects, engineers, developers, building companies and trades people, and construction product suppliers. It publishes a range of guides on elements of circular construction, and the homepage can be used by the sector as a knowledge resource (VCØB, u.d.).

Værdibyg is a cooperative development programme uniting some of the most prominent construction organisations in Denmark: BAT-Kartellet, Bygherreforeningen, DI Byggeri, Danske Arkitektvirksomheder, Foreningen af Rådgivende Ingeniører, and TEKNIQ Arbejdsgiverne (Værdibyg, u.d.). It seeks to develop and promote new construction methods and processes that minimise value loss in the industry. Circular construction is a core component of its work, and it has developed a range of educational and communicational materials that aim to move the sector in a circular direction.

These include:

A guide addressing the main dilemmas faced in circular demolition. It includes guidance on issues such as demolition and renovation, choosing materials for reuse and recycling, and circular demolition regulations.
A guide to the circular demolition process providing specific instructions on how demolition projects can be planned and carried out so that reuse and reutilisation are promoted as much as possible.
A guide to environmental surveying and demolition clarifying how environmental surveying constitutes a value-creating element in demolition and renovation projects.

We Build Denmark is the official cluster organisation for the building and construction industry in Denmark. It is supported by the national authorities, municipalities, sector organisations, and the largest construction-focused fund in Denmark (We Build Denmark, u.d.). It works broadly with innovation and sustainability, drawing on expertise from a strong field of Danish technical research institutions including Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, Dansk Brand- og forsikrings Institut. Københavns Universitet, Roskilde Universitet, Syddansk Universitet, Aalborg Universitet, Aarhus Universitet, and leading architecture and professional technical schools. Circular economy is part of We Build Denmark’s ongoing agenda, and there is an advisory panel working on the issue under the overall umbrella of sustainability.

5.1.2. State of circular construction

Denmark recycles and recovers a high level of construction and demolition waste: it had already met and exceeded the EU’s Waste framework targets for the treatment of construction and demolition waste when the targets were launched (Eurostat, 2023). However, much of the recycled construction material was recovered in low-value applications. In 2021, Denmark recycled, prepared for reuse, or otherwise recovered 87 per cent of the generated construction and demolition waste (Table 3). However, the share of generated construction and demolition waste that was prepared for reuse or recycled (excluding other utilisation) fell from 36 per cent in 2018 to 33 per cent in 2020 (Table 3).

The share of buildings certified by svanemærket, DGNB, LEED, or BREEAM increased yearly, with almost one out of four new buildings certified in 2020.

Table 2 - Share of certified buildings, and reuse, recycling, & utilisation of C&D waste in Denmark

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Share of buildings certified by svanemærket, DGNB, LEED, or BREEAM		7%	16%	23%	23%
Share of construction and demolition waste prepared for reuse or recycled			36%	33%	33%
Share of construction and demolition waste prepared for reuse or recycled, or other material utilisation	85%	88%	88%	87%	87%

Source: (Miljøstyrelsen, 2022)

Anecdotal evidence indicates that there is increasing recognition that circular construction is an essential element in creating a sustainable built environment. This includes not only recycling and reuse of building materials and components, but also making better use of existing structures. For example, there have been a significant number flagship and research and development initiatives addressing the subject, while the coming regulations regarding selective demolition and disassembly also indicate an ongoing and deep commitment to circular construction at a structural level.

Experience and involvement are growing throughout the construction industry value chain. For example, several of the leading demolition companies have recently invested in Greendozer, a digital marketplace/platform for reusing used building products (Greendozer, u.d.), while two leading construction companies have invested in Genbyg, a physical reuse marketplace (Genbyg, u.d.). This should help expand expertise further, broaden awareness of reuse of building materials and components within the industry, and foster better utilisation of existing construction materials in future construction projects.

As with the other Nordic countries, there is little information on the renovation rate in Denmark. Focusing on single family houses, 33 per cent underwent some form of renovation in 2019–2020, with a larger share in houses built before 1990 than those built after (Eberhardt, L. et al., 2022).

5.2. Finland

5.2.1. Framework conditions for circular construction in Finland

Policy & Strategy

The 2017 National Climate Law sets out the government’s goal of becoming the first welfare society in the world to reach climate neutrality by 2035. The country's climate law is being revised and reformed to enable Finland to reach this goal. Transitioning the Finnish economy to a circular economy is one of the key components to achieving climate neutrality.

In April of 2021, the Finnish Council of State (fin. Valtioneuvosto) started the process of developing a strategic program to describe the conditions for a successful transition to a circular economy. The goal is to make circular economy the basis of the state economy by 2035, in line with the climate goal (YM, 2021a).

The Strategic Program for a Circular Economy in Finland contains 18 central measures through which the different ministries are bound to endorse a circular economy during the period of 2021–2024 (YM, 2021b). Of these, the following are relevant and important adaptions for the construction industry:

Improvement of tax regulations and legislation to create financial incentives for wider use of circular business models.
Making information available to the public regarding circular economy services, such as repair and resale services for home improvement projects.
Development of strong digital platforms linking material and data flows to increase the traceability of material flows, resource-efficient production, and data-based decision-making.
Procurement of circular economy solutions for the public sector within construction and infrastructure projects.
Integration of circular economy expertise into educational systems and work-life skills of all relevant business areas (Valtioneuvosto, 2021).

Building regulations

The building and construction industry in Finland is under direct governmental control through the Ministry of the Environment (fin. Ympäristöministeriö, YM). YM oversees, legislates, and develops strategies for improvements in terms of:

the national climate work,
nature and water resource utilisation,
housing,
building and land usage,
the circular economy,
environmental research and development.

Finland is in the process of reforming the national construction and land use regulations. The new law addressing construction—the Construction Act—provides for a raft of initiatives for promoting the circular economy in the construction sector (YM, 2021c). This will include:

Demand for new low-carbon building that promotes the use of recycled and reused content in new buildings.
Demand for life cycle qualities in new construction that promote long service life, flexible building design, and designs for disassembly and reusability.
Demand for pre-demolition material reporting promoting the reuse and recycling of end-life materials.

The new Construction Act is expected to be passed in February 2023 and enter into force in January 2024.

Waste legislation

Construction and demolition waste in Finland is regulated by the Waste Legislation. Section 15 of the Waste Act requires the separate collection of wastes of different types at source, although it does not specify the specific waste fractions that must be separately collected (Ministry of the Environment, 2021). In line with the Waste Framework Directive, the Waste Law includes provisions for not separately collecting waste where it does not improve recovery, where it is disproportionately expensive, where it is not technically feasible, and where it doesn’t lead to improved environmental results. Similarly, it also legislates the end-of-waste conditions for generated waste, which is in line with the Waste Framework Directive. This thus allows waste to become a resource when it will be used for a specified purpose, when there is a market for it, when it meets the technical requirements of the application, and where it does not pose a danger to the environment or health (Ministry of the Environment, 2021).

The Waste Act also dictates the terms of Finland’s waste taxation (fin. jätevero). The tax is paid when waste is transported to a final disposal site, although this excludes some types of waste that can be utilised in the maintenance and development of the waste facility itself (Ministry of the Environment, 2021). For example, asphalt waste or crushed bricks used for surface improvements of the infrastructure within the waste facility are exempt from taxation (Verohallinto, 2021).

The tax aims to make it less profitable to ship demolition waste directly for disposal and instead incentivises the recycling and reuse of materials. The tax is paid by the waste facilities for waste sent to final disposal either above or beneath the ground. The tax applies to both private and public waste facilities and is set to 70 euros per ton for the year 2021 (Verohallinto, 2021).

Voluntary agreements

In 2020, the Finnish Ministry of the Environment entered a comprehensive ”Green Deal” with Rakli, the trade organisation for property owners and developers, to promote material efficiency in demolition. The agreement aims to increase the reuse and recycling of demolition materials by encouraging property owners and developers to conduct pre-demolition surveys for any demolition or large-scale renovation project. Specific targets have been put in place for pre-demolition mapping: by 2022, 50 per cent of demolition/renovation projects conducted by Rakli members should include a pre-demolition survey; this should rise to 75 per cent by 2025. It is anticipated that the agreement will help strengthen the knowledge base, promote the reuse and recycling of used building elements, and help further develop the available tools and platforms supporting circular construction, specifically the pre-demolition surveys and the online materials marketplace (Sitoumus2050, u.d.). The voluntary agreement runs until 2025.

Environmental Certification Schemes

The following environmental certification systems are used in Finland:

BREEAM - Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, EU
LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Global
Nordic Swan (fin. Joutsenmerkki), Nordic countries
RTS Environmental certificate (fin. RTS - Rakennustietosäätiön ympäristöluokitus), Finland

RTS is a domestic certification system used only in Finland. It is based on the European CEN TC 350 standards and is managed and supervised by Rakennustieto Oy. It is adapted to Finnish construction practice and national building regulations, like the Swedish equivalent Miljöbyggnad.

RTS certification system

The RTS environmental certificate gives a value of 1–5 stars and is divided into two main categories: Housing and Office & Service buildings. In each category, the certificate is available for both renovation and new development, and audits are carried out during both the construction phase and the property management phase.

The RTS certificate has four major areas of criteria:

The Construction Process
Economy (construction phase as well as LCC)
Environment & Energy
Indoor Air Quality & Climate

Material efficiency is a subsection of the Environment & Energy category.

Circularity is present in the criteria set for Office & Service Buildings. The first requirement for point gain is that the project in question must have already stated the required amount of recycled materials during the planning phase. In other words, a goal must be set in the project planning phase, and it must be included in the project documentation. After the construction phase is finished, a follow-up is conducted within the certification audit, and points are then given according to the following table:

Percentage of total amount of available points in the category:	Criteria for material efficiency are met in:
25%	1 type of construction material
50%	3 types of construction material
75%	6 types of construction material

RTS table (RTS ymprisötluokitus v1.1, 2020)

Depending on how many different types of construction parts are affected by the circularity requirement, the project will gain between 25–75 per cent of the total available points in the category of material efficiency. The remaining 25 per cent can be gained from the use of environmentally conscious materials.

For a construction material to qualify as circular according to the table above, it must meet at least one or a combination of the following requirements (RTS ymprisötluokitus v1.1, p. 41):

10% recycled materials that have been salvaged from the building site itself.
25% recycled materials (EPD secondary material)
50% industrial leftover materials or waste
50% renewable materials
80% of the construction material/construction element has been conserved during the renovation

Stakeholders involved in CE activities

RAKLI is the leading organisation representing Finnish property owners, investors, developers, and contractors within the building and construction sector. The organisation’s main duty is to safeguard the interests of its members, partake in the public debate regarding construction related issues, and contribute to a positive development in the country’s climate work.

RAKLI has several expert groups covering different areas of the building industry. These comprise representatives from members, which include both public and private actors, and provide the organisation with a broad and nuanced perspective in the public debate. RAKLI entered into a “Green Deal” with the Ministry of the Environment to promote high-quality recovery of demolition materials using pre-demolition audits (see above) (YM, u.d.).

RAKLI’s road map for lowering carbon emissions identified the amount of vacant, empty spaces and locales within the building stock as a key issue: there are three times as many vacant locales in Helsinki compared to other Nordic capital cities (RAKLI, 2021). Adapting vacant and empty buildings and spaces for new purposes is a very important way of achieving a functioning circular economy.

5.2.2. State of Circular Construction in Finland

Finland has not yet achieved the Waste Framework Directive recycling target for non-hazardous C&D waste of 70 per cent by 2020 (EC, 2008). In 2020, the share of non-hazardous C&D waste prepared for reuse, recycled, or subject to material recovery was 63 per cent (Eurostat, 2023)in Finland, although this rate varied significantly over the preceding years, peaking at 87 per cent in 2016.

The Finnish building stock is heavily based on wooden construction—approximately 45 per cent of the material in Finnish buildings is wood, and in the past decade, Finland has invested significantly in constructing new wooden buildings with the goal of replacing steel and concrete as building materials. Correspondingly, approximately 30 per cent of C&D waste is also wood (Lindgren, 2018). In 2020, the Finnish construction and demolition industry

NACE categories F41-43 – thus including infrastructure, construction, and demolition activities.

generated approximately 273,000 tonnes of wood waste. Almost all the wood waste generated by construction and demolition activities in Finland is incinerated for energy recovery

Niu, Y et al, (2021) Prolonging life cycles of construction materials and combating climate change by cascading: The case of reusing timber in Finland. Journal of Resource conservation and recycling, Vol 170, July 2021.

Since the mid 1990’s, concrete waste in Finland has mainly been used as a foundation material for streets, roads, and other infrastructure projects (Nordqvist, 2016). Crushed waste concrete is commonly used for road structures since it is not permitted for use in the base structure of any type of building other than warehouses and industrial facilities (Valtioneuvosto, 2018).

The Finnish classification standard SFS-EN 5884, originally published in 2001 and updated in 2018, aims to support socially responsible and environmentally ethical repurposing of concrete waste materials within the construction sector. The standard divides concrete waste into four different categories, BeM I – BeM IV according to its quality and purity, which then determines the best-suited targets for its reuse:

BeM I class concrete waste derived directly from the concrete industry, making it the purest type of concrete waste.
BeM II – BeM IV, all derived from demolished buildings and other structures and categorised based on their inherent amount of other construction materials such as plastic, brick, and mineral wool as well as their endurance properties (Suomen Standardiliitto SFS ry, 2018).

Concrete wastes that do not meet the requirements for commercial reuse have typically been used in the management and on-site improvements of the recycling centres where the concrete waste has been transported for final disposal (Nordqvist, 2016).

There are currently many approaches seeking to enable and ease the process of recycling and reuse of construction materials. The ongoing efforts by the authorities to promote circular construction and projects grounded in circular principles, in particular the reuse and recycling of construction and demolition waste, indicate that there is growing momentum for circular construction in Finland.

5.3. Iceland

5.3.1. Framework conditions for circular construction

Policy & Strategy

The revised circular economy and waste strategy, Towards a circular economy – waste management policy (Í átt að hringrásarhagkerfi Stefna umhverfis– og auðlindaráðherra í úrgangsmálum) (Umhverfis– og auðlindaráðuneytið, 2021) aims to promote sustainable resource use by increasing recycling and other reuse of waste, reducing landfilling, and ending landfilling of biodegradable waste.

Local governments play a key role in waste management. It is up to the local government to determine the arrangements for the collection of operational waste within the municipality, compared to waste management law. The local governments are also responsible for promoting the collection and sorting of waste in such a way that it can be reused rather than disposed of.

Let‘s Build a Greener Future (Byggjum grænni framtíð, 2022) is a joint project between the government and the building industry's stakeholders targeting more environmentally friendly construction. The project has its roots, among other things, in Action C.3 - Climate impact of the construction industry: systematically reducing emissions of greenhouse gases from the construction industry in Iceland.

As a part of this project, a Roadmap for ecological construction 2030 has been created. The roadmap introduces 11 action points aimed at promoting the introduction of a circular economy in the infrastructure sector:

Establish a marketplace for soil and minerals (MölUndur).
Map and establish guidelines for the potential utilisation of different construction wastes.
Promote new classification requirements for construction and demolition waste by operators.
Start a conversation and encourage the state or local authorities to offer preferred areas where it is possible to give, sell, access, and buy building materials.
Amend building regulations to demand that architects’ reports contain information on the maximum utilisation of building materials.
Record in the national building register the buildings that have received permission for demolition.
Establish a clear requirement for the submission of real figures on the amount of waste and activate follow-up procedures.
Identify which provisions in the law on building products and building regulations could be revised to promote the increased effectiveness of the circular economy without compromising safety and quality.
Issue guidelines on waste prevention, preparation for reuse, recycling, and other reuse of building materials for the design of new structures and renovation projects.
Issue guidelines for responsible demolition.
Emphasise construction activities in the waste prevention policy Together against waste.

All these actions are planned to be completed by the end of 2023.

Together against waste – strategy for waste prevention (Umhverfis– og auðlindaráðuneytið, 2016) is Iceland’s waste prevention policy that applies from 2016 to 2027. The Minister of the Environment, Energy, and Climate established the policy, and it is managed by the Environmental Agency.

The policy focuses on nine priority categories—six for the coming two years and three that will require longer-term efforts. Green buildings will be a priority in 2024-2025.

Article 13 of the Icelandic Waste Management Regulation (Reglugerð um meðhöndlun úrgangs) (Alþingi, 2003) defines and establishes the principle of the waste hierarchy in Icelandic regulations. It states that when handling waste, and when establishing rules for management and policy regarding waste, the following hierarchy of priorities shall be followed:

waste prevention,
preparation for reuse,
recycling,
other reuse, such as for energy production
disposal.

Preparation for the reuse, recycling, and other reuse of materials other than natural materials, including in backfills/landscaping where waste is used instead of other materials, in relation to general waste from construction and demolition activities, shall be increased to a minimum of 70 per cent by weight no later than 2020. This is in line with the targets for C&D waste in the EU’s Waste Framework Directive.

The waste management regulations have been amended to ensure that construction and demolition waste must be separately collected in at least the following fractions: hazardous materials, wood, minerals, metal, glass, plastic, and plaster. This took effect starting on 1 January 2023 (Alþingi, 2021).

The legislation for classifying construction waste is changing starting on 1 January 2023. Construction companies, contractors and other actors have been in negotiation throughout 2022 on the related issues. These discussions have focused on, among other things, the following topics:

Incentives are needed to recycle more concrete. Today the economic advantages of the linear economy are too big compared to those offered by the circular system. There is a lack of financial incentives and a clearer legal authority for this.
Some public tenders include incentives that award construction companies for reusing materials, but there is a lack of a platform/channel to sell and buy reused materials. The contractors do not always have the possibility of storing materials for a long time.
Currently limited demand for used products. Reused products need to be included in the design. Products for which there is no demand should not be stored.
There is already an incentive in waste costs, but is the cost difference between classified and unclassified waste large enough?

The Law on Processing Fees aims to create economic conditions for the circular economy of waste, and it imposes financial extended producer responsibility (EPR) on a range of products. By increasing the price of new products with a processing fee, economic conditions are created for the reuse and recycling of waste. A processing fund handles the administration and disposal of the processing fee. The cost of handling the product and its packaging should be included in the product price and not paid afterwards. Examples of product categories covered by the processing fee are paper and cardboard packaging, plastic, glass, wood, and metal packaging, batteries and accumulators, paint, hazardous materials, and electrical and electronic devices.

Building regulations

The Icelandic Building Regulations (Byggingarreglugerð) define what and how construction takes place in Iceland. The following components for the building regulations have a particular impact on circularity in the construction sector (Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun, 2022):

15.2.1. art.

Buildings and structures and their individual parts must be designed and built to last. It is recommended that a life cycle analysis be carried out for new structures, extensions, the reconstruction of structures, and major maintenance projects.
Recycled and reusable building materials should be chosen for building structures, if possible, according to the circumstances for each project.
Construction waste must be kept to a minimum; this includes, for example, leftovers, and unused building materials or building parts.

6.1.1. art.

When building and designing buildings, materials and methods should be chosen that are suitable for Icelandic conditions, negative environmental effects should be minimised, eco-friendly solutions should be chosen where possible, and the design should take the entire life cycle into account. The use of resources should be minimised, and usability, efficiency, and user comfort should be maximised.

15.2.4. art. Management of construction and demolition waste.

All construction waste must be transported to an approved reception centre.
By no later than January 1, 2020, at least 70 per cent of construction and demolition waste must be sorted in such a way that it is suitable for reuse before it is returned to an authorised reception centre.

For buildings that need a permit, a list of construction and demolition waste generated must be made. This list must record the material types and their quantities.

16.1.1

Before the final assessment of a structure is performed, the construction manager must hand over the structure's manual to the owner and the permit applicant.

In addition, the Guidelines for Building Regulation 112/2012 - General requirements (delivery of building manual) (Húsnæðis- og mannvirkjastofnun, 2020) demand that information be provided on the purchase of all specialized technical equipment as well as the main construction products. This includes where the product was purchased, the type and model, and information about the manufacturer. Information must be presented in such a way that the characteristics and type of the product are known. When CE certification is required, certificates/declarations of conformity must be included in the manual.

Sales platforms

MölUndur is a software and database project currently being developed as part of the Roadmap for Ecological Construction 2030. It is intended to become a central marketplace for soil and minerals for the public sector. The platform provides an overview of construction sites in Iceland along with information on soil and mineral waste generated at each location. MölUndur aims to minimise the transport and storage of soil and minerals and use materials as close to their source as possible. It will promote the reuse of soil and minerals throughout Iceland.

Efnismiðlun Góða hirðisins is a market at Sorpa's recycling sites in Sævarhöfði and Breiðhella. There you can find used building materials and products that can be reused in construction, and there are plans to establish a “mineral park”, which would be a reception site for soil, minerals, and inert waste that can be reused elsewhere – in Álfsnes.

Stakeholders involved in Circular Economy activities

Aside from the key public authorities, key stakeholders in circular construction are:

Green Building Council Iceland (companies, organisations, institutions, and individuals are members of Green Building Council Iceland)

Let’s Build a Greener Future (Byggjum grænni framtíð) is a joint project between the government and construction industry stakeholders which has its roots, among other things, in Action C.3 in the government's climate action plan. The project management team is made up of representatives from:

Green Building Council Iceland
The Federation of Icelandic Industries
The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration
The Environment Agency of Iceland
Icelandic Association of Local Authorities
Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour
The Institution of Housing and Structures

Nordic collaboration

The Ministry of Infrastructure, Institution of Housing and Structures, and Green Building Council Iceland are currently working on Nordic Sustainable Construction Work Package 4: Emission-free construction sites, which includes the production, transport, and disposal of building materials.

5.3.2. State of Circular Construction in Iceland

In 2020, construction and demolition activities in Iceland generated 524,000 tonnes of mineral waste (incl. soil). The largest part of the construction waste was excavation material, e.g., clean soil, gravel, and sand (Umhverfisstofnun, 2020). In 2018 (the most recent Eurostat data for Iceland), 98 per cent of non-hazardous C&D waste was prepared for reuse, recycled, or subject to material recovery (Eurostat, 2023). This waste is mainly reused in backfilling or landscaping applications (Umhverfisstofnun, 2020).

The largest part of the construction waste excluding excavation waste is also inert (e.g., concrete, tiles, ceramics, and glass). Table 4 shows the treatment of both building and demolition waste (excluding excavation waste).

Table 3 - Building and demolition waste in Iceland 2020 (Grænni byggð, VSÓ ráðgjöf, 2022)

	Recycled, reused, or recovered (tonnes)	Disposed (tonnes)
Timber (non-hazardous)	7,183	2,061
Timber (hazardous)	194	0
Inert waste (non-hazardous) e.g. concrete, tiles, gypsum, glass	24,944	1,996
Asphalt (non-hazardous)	21,683	4
Mixed waste (non-hazardous)	134	3,226
Waste with Asbestos (hazardous)	0	118
Total	54,138	7,405

Concrete is the main construction material in 70 per cent of buildings in Iceland. Around 80 per cent of the concrete waste is recycled, although mainly as aggregate and filler (Grænni byggð, VSÓ Ráðgjöf, 2022).

In Iceland, glass is also used as a filling material. Only a small fraction of glass waste is reused, and none is recycled in the country. Even though glass is an easy material to recycle, it has not been considered profitable to export it for recycling, nor invest in local recycling capacity due to the small quantity of waste. There is a plan to export bottle glass abroad for recycling, and window glass is also under consideration. Tiles are generally also crushed and used as filling material for landscaping.

In 2019, the Green Building Council Iceland, in cooperation with other stakeholders, published a series of reports on construction waste addressing the circular economy and construction industry, the mapping of construction waste, instructions on how to handle construction waste, and the assessment of hazardous substances in construction and demolition waste and their treatment plan.

There is a marked difference in the composition of the wastes generated in construction activities compared to demolition activities, as shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5. The data is aggregated for the years 2018-2022 and is based on the analysis of wastes from a sample of new construction and demolition activities covering approximately 9,300 tonnes of waste in total. As such, it should be interpreted with caution. There is only limited supervision of construction waste generated in Iceland, and The Environmental Agency has that role. It proved difficult to access data on construction waste, and there is no uniform method for classifying construction and demolition waste in Iceland (Grænni byggð, VSÓ Ráðgjöf, 2022). As a result, more than 18 per cent of the waste generated in new construction is “not classified”.

Figure 3 – Waste from new construction, Iceland, 2018–22

Waste from a sample of new buildings. (Grænni byggð, VSÓ Ráðgjöf, 2022)

Figure 4 – Waste from demolition activities, Iceland, 2018–22

Waste from a sample of demolition projects. The amount of demolition waste was based on a plan, so only a small part was classified as "mixed waste”.

Minerals make up 24 per cent of new construction waste and 91 per cent of demolition waste. Most mineral in demolition waste is from concrete buildings (the most common type of building in Iceland), although it also includes some tiles and ceramics. Mineral waste from new buildings is mainly residual material such as cut-off tiles etc. (Grænni byggð, VSÓ Ráðgjöf, 2022).

As with other Nordic countries, stone wool is a widely used, locally produced insulation material in Iceland. Stone wool offcuts from new construction projects can be used and reused instead of being thrown away. There is interest in reusing the material and finding recycling channels (Grænni byggð, VSÓ Ráðgjöf, 2022).

Materials such as unused modular walls, pipes, timber, tanks, and many others that could have easily gone into reuse or repair often go to landfill. The scale of this type of waste has never been mapped properly, but most of the "recycling" that takes place is actually down-cycling, which signifies a loss of value and material quality (Grænni byggð, Mannvirkjastofnun, 2019).

5.4. Norway

5.4.1. Framework conditions for circular construction in Norway

Strategies and policy

Norway is a member of European Economic Area (EEA), so it acts in accordance with most of the EU policy regarding climate change and circular economy, including the Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan. The Norwegian Government has an ambition for Norway to play a pioneering role in the development of a green circular economy that makes better, more efficient use of resources. Norway will achieve this by developing policy and policy instruments, both nationally and in cooperation with the EU, to develop a framework for value creation and green competitiveness in Norway (Klima- og miljødepartementet, 2021).

The Climate Change Act (Klimaloven) entered into force in 2018 to align Norway with the EU Green Deal (Lovdata, 2017). The Act aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50-55 per cent by 2030 and by 90-95 per cent by 2050 compared to 1990. The aims were evaluated in 2020 and will be re-evaluated every 5 years.

In line with the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, the Norwegian government has developed a National Strategy for a Green, Circular Economy (Klima- og miljødepartementet, 2021) with the following main tasks to achieve:

Sustainable production and product design
Sustainable ways to consume and use materials, products, and services
Non-toxic circular circuits
Circular economy which drives innovation, value creation, and workplaces in Norway

The overall aim of the Strategy for a Green, Circular Economy is:

“The transition to a more circular economy should contribute to achieving the adopted climate and environmental goals and the UN's sustainable development goals, and at the same time contribute to value creation, long-term competitiveness, and social justice. The transition should contribute to reducing the loss and preventing the deterioration of natural resources and double the use of secondary raw materials over the next ten years.”

This vision and the overall objectives make it clear that the Government does not consider the transition to a circular economy to be a goal itself. However, it is viewed as a process that will contribute to value creation and sustainability, and simultaneously contribute to Norway’s climate and environmental policy targets, including Norway’s efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The Strategy will underpin the Government’s efforts to exploit the potential for value creation in Norwegian businesses and industries more fully, with a more circular economy as the basis. It includes specific action points for the sectors that have been identified as having the greatest potential for circularity and green competitiveness in Norway; these are the bio-based sectors, the process industries, the construction and buildings industry, and the service industries, including retail and wholesale trade.

The main aims of the National Strategy for a Green, Circular Economy relevant to the construction and buildings industry include:

Utilising the entire country to create a circular economy based on local and regional resources and business structures.
Supporting the opportunities Norwegian industry provides for strengthened green competitiveness on the basis of a circular economy.
Building and operating more circular buildings through legislation and targeted efforts. The state as property manager takes particular responsibility.
Taking care of Norwegian interests in the EU's work via a strengthened product framework for more sustainable products.
Strengthening the role of the waste sector to take care of material resources and supply secondary raw materials for circular cycles.
Working towards non-toxic circular cycles through a continuously ambitious chemical policy in collaboration with the EU.
Exploiting the possibilities of digitisation for accessing information about product properties and markets for secondary raw materials for all market participants.
Focusing on research-based knowledge and innovation. The means of action shall develop a circular economy as a transverse area of focus.
Ensuring a holistic knowledge base for how economic tools can contribute to better resource utilisation and a circular economy.
Promoting sustainable public consumption and green innovation through public procurements.

The strategy promotes a concrete target stating that 70 per cent of construction waste must be prepared for reuse or recycling, which is in line with the EU’s Waste Framework Directive. Furthermore, it identifies the need to adjust national requirements to better facilitate increased reuse (Klima- og miljødepartementet, 2021)

The Hurdal platform (The Government platform presented by the Labor Party and the Center Party in 2021) includes the development of a new action plan for a circular economy. The government will "require that city buildings and facilities are built with climate-friendly materials and designed for low energy use and reuse, as well as facilitate fossil-free construction sites” (Deloitte, 2022).

EU’s Taxonomy is also anticipated to be one of the drivers for circular construction in the years to come in Norway even though it is outside the EU. The timeline for implementing the Taxonomy in Norway is a little different from that of the EU since there is a need for new laws and legislations to be implemented.

Public procurement

The 2023 national budget suggests prioritising changes to the procurement regulations and other measures that promote sustainability and environmental considerations in public procurements. It also suggests that climate and environmental considerations should account for at least 30 per cent in procurement evaluations in order to accelerate the establishment of a circular economy in the building, construction, and property sector (Deloitte, 2022).

The main goal of the Ministry of Finance and the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management (Direktoratet for forvaltning og økonomistyring, DFØ) is that “the public sector should carry out efficient and sustainable procurements”. Several initiatives aim to integrate circular thinking into the procurement process, including (Deloitte, 2022):

The “Get started with green procurement” programme
A hotline for sustainable procurement
A support team,
A criteria guide for sustainability in buildings, constructions, and property

DFØ manages the web platformwww.anskaffelser.no, which is a support and knowledge-sharing portal on public procurement. The site contains information about the procurement process for efficient and sustainable procurement as well as contact details for the hotline for sustainable procurement (DFØ, u.d.).

Building regulations

In recent years, several changes have been implemented in the Norwegian legislation regarding the reuse of materials. These changes pertain to facilitating dismantling, keeping greenhouse gas accounts, mapping materials suitable for reuse, waste sorting, and energy flexibility.

The Planning and Building Act (Plan- og bygningsloven) determines the use and regulation of land in Norway (Lovdata, 2008). The Act shall promote sustainable development in the best interests of individuals, society, and future generations, and sets certain material requirements for construction works. The Regulations on technical requirements for constructions (TEK 17) set further technical requirements for constructions (Lovdata, 2017).

In December 2020, Kommunal og moderniseringdepartementet suggested changes in the Planning and Building Act aiming to increase the reuse and lifespan of buildings. The changes imply that the municipalities can allow exemptions from certain technical requirements for rebuilding, rehabilitating, and changing the use of buildings.

The changes involved the following regulations:

Regulations on technical requirements for construction works (TEK 17)
Regulations relating to building applications (Lovdata, 2010) (SAK 10)
Regulations on sales and documentation of products for construction works (Lovdata, 2013) (DOK)

The changes in TEK 17, SAK 10, and DOK were implemented 1 July 2022, and will apply starting 1 July 2023. The aim of the changes is to help minimise hazardous substances, reduce the amount of construction waste, and increase reuse and material recycling. The main changes are:

New buildings must be designed and built in such a way as to facilitate dismantling. The new regulation comes in addition to the prior regulation, in which it was required to choose products which are suitable for reuse and material recycling.
Materials must be mapped for reuse prior to major (renovation) works in existing buildings.
The requirement for sorting waste on construction sites increases from 60 to 70 per cent.
A requirement for greenhouse gas accounting for apartment blocks and commercial buildings.

Waste management plans were already required for renovation or demolition projects. “Hazmat Surveys” to map all hazardous substances are also mandated. In practice, this means that a complete environmental mapping report and reuse mapping report must now be prepared for the demolition of smaller buildings and for rehabilitation, where only simplified assessments were done in the past.

The aim of the “reuse mapping” is to identify reusable building components in existing buildings, either for reuse in the same building or in another building, thus maximizing reuse and recycling. The reuse mapping report must describe all building fractions or materials that are suitable for reuse. However, it is not necessary to describe how these materials can be reused or that they will be reused.

The Regulations on sales and documentation of products for construction works (DOK) ensure that buildings are safe and meet the requirements for harmful substances and construction and fire safety. They can, however, also be a barrier to establishing a circular economy in the building industry. As from 1 July 2022, the requirement to document characteristics of used building materials for sale was removed. This means that it is no longer required to meet the documentation requirements in the DOK if the used building materials are sold or given away. The documentation requirement still applies if the building material is changed significantly. The aim of the change in the DOK is to make it easier to sell used building materials.

This change helps make establishing a circular economy in the building industry easier, but the documentation requirements can still be a barrier. For example, TEK17 still demands documentation that all construction products used have appropriate properties that help the building meet the requirements of the TEK regulation.

Waste regulations

The revised Waste Regulations (Lovdata, 2004) from 1 July 2020 include a new chapter regarding concrete and brick from demolition projects (Waste regulations). The aim of the new regulations is to promote the recycling of concrete and bricks from demolition projects and to remove and destroy the environmental toxin PCB. If the requirements of the revised waste regulations are fulfilled, it will no longer be necessary to obtain permission from the Norwegian Environmental Directory (Miljødirektoratet) to reuse brick and concrete waste. Concrete and bricks from demolition projects can be used for construction work if:

they replace materials that would otherwise have been used, and
they do not contain substances hazardous to health and the environment above the limits specified in the regulations,
they are not covered in chemicals that can be harmful to health or environment,
they do not contain grout, rebar, or plastics,
they are made of shotcrete.

If these requirements are not fulfilled, permission from the Norwegian Environment Directory is required to reuse the brick or concrete waste.

National action plans for construction waste were launched on a regular basis starting in 2001 and set goals for waste reduction, waste sorting and recycling of construction waste, in addition to identifying measures to achieve the goals over the subsequent 3 years. The fifth and newest action plan was published in 2021 (NHP5) and defined four milestones (NHP5, 2021):

Reduce waste in building and construction projects.
80 per cent of generated waste from building and construction is material recycled within 2023.
Better and proper handling of all hazardous waste.
Prevent recycling of prioritised hazardous pollutants in the transition to a circular economy.

Standardisation

There is ongoing activity in coordinating existing and new standardisation activities related to the circular economy.

The Norwegian committee (SN/K 583 Circular economy) for a circular economy was established in 2019 and is part of the international work in ISO/TC 323, Circular economy. The committee shall contribute to Norwegian expertise and encourage interested parties in developing international standards around a "circular economy". In addition, the committee (SN/K 605) is engaged with the international work under “CEN/TC 350/SC-1, Circular economy in the construction sector”.

The committees will assess the need to prepare supplementary Norwegian documents for internationally adopted standards and assess the need for translation into Norwegian, including Norwegian terminology.

Organisations and initiatives

Circular construction has received significant attention in recent years in Norway, as can be seen by the number and size of initiatives addressing the subject. There is an increasing number of actors offering services for reuse, material recovery, and recycling on material-exchange and circular economy platforms.

SINTEF is one of Europe's largest research institutes, with multidisciplinary expertise in technology, the natural sciences, and social sciences. SINTEF manages or is involved in several projects related to reuse, the circular economy, building materials, and other topics related to circular construction.

REBUS (Reuse of Building materials – a User Perspective) is a research project financed by the Research Council of Norway through the “MILJØFORSK” programme. The project started in January 2020 and will continue until December 2024. The main objective of REBUS is to develop knowledge that will enable wider and more efficient implementation of reusable building materials for a transition to a circular built environment. The REBUS project work is divided into five work packages, each addressing a different aspect of the project’s objective.

User requirements: analyse user awareness, knowledge, needs, and social practices to find solutions and create a knowledge platform.
Assessment of construction products for reuse: Identify best methods for assessing both technical performance and the content of hazardous substances in construction products or components that are considered for reuse.
Life cycle sustainability assessment: Identify how existing evaluation and labelling methods can be developed for distinguishing reusable materials from a life cycle perspective.
Pilot testing and toolbox: Co-implement the practical knowledge of assessed methods and solutions through pilot projects. Pilots testing will build in-depth knowledge of how to deal with implementation issues such as the suitability of test and evaluation methods, policies and requirements, and markets for reused products.
Networking and procurement: Develop network strategies and recommendations for incentives through procurement and regulations to ensure a high level of engagement among users and stakeholders in co-creating common knowledge.

The project will generate new knowledge pertaining to the legal procedures and quality assurance schemes as well as the technical, environmental, economic, and social performance of reuse and how these aspects are related. By cooperating with the industry, the project aims to find practical solutions as well as develop and implement more relevant methods to reuse building materials more quickly.

REBUS’ work has already resulted in producing several publications, including Barriers, success factors, and perspectives for the reuse of construction products in Norway and the Guide on how to assess building materials for reuse.

The Norwegian Green Building Council (Grønn byggallianse) is a non-profit organisation for businesses in the real estate sector in Norway. Their vision is to develop the Norwegian real estate (BAE) sector in a way makes consideration for the environment and sustainability a natural choice.

The Norwegian Green Building Council and Norsk Eiendom (Norwegian Property) has created a “Property sector roadmap toward 2050” (Eiendomssektorens veikart mot 2050). This roadmap provides recommendations to owners and managers of commercial buildings regarding the long- and short-term choices that will contribute to a sustainable society by 2050. There are 10 recommended immediate actions for building owners, and 10 recommended immediate reactions for the authorities (Grønn byggallianse, n.d. a). Some of the actions are particularly relevant to the circular economy. One intermediate action is to plan for reuse in buildings projects, with focus on how to acquire and use materials that are suitable for reuse and how to plan design for future reuse. One immediate action is to request reusable materials, either from other projects within the organisation or from external projects.

The Norwegian Green Building Council manages the environmental certification scheme BREEAM-NOR, which is the most frequently used environmental certification for buildings in Norway. BREEAM-NOR is adapted to Norwegian standards and aims to go further than the Norwegian legislation. The latest version of the technical manual launched in 2022 has significantly increased the focus on circular construction. The scheme rewards projects facilitating the reuse of building materials, sorting and preparing materials for reuse, recycling, and projects designed for reusability and flexibility.

Pådriv is a non-profit sustainable development network in Norway started in 2016. The network is an association in which small and large actors are equally involved, and it is open to both individuals and businesses from all sectors and industries. One of the projects, “National knowledge arena for reuse in the construction industry,” was established in 2022 and is led by “Sirkulær ressurssentral” (Circular Resource Center). Its purpose is to facilitate increased circular reuse of materials in the construction industry in Oslo and the surrounding area, thus helping to reduce the climate footprint from material use in construction and construction activities. The Circular Resource Center has established a multi-purpose resource centre for used building materials in a large warehouse in Oslo. Several actors in the building and construction industry are involved as partners (Pådriv, u.d.). Pådriv has arranged several seminars to raise issues related to the reuse of building materials.

FutureBuilt is an innovation programme and showcase for the most ambitious actors in the building sector in Norway. Their vision is to show that climate neutral urban areas based on high-quality architecture are possible. FutureBuilt’s goal is to complete 100 pilot projects which cut carbon emissions by at least 50 per cent compared to current regulations and best practices. Each pilot project needs to fulfil certain criteria within specific areas, one of which is circular buildings (FutureBuilt, u.d.).

A circular building must facilitate resource utilisation at the highest possible level and consist of at least 50 per cent reused and reusable components. The criteria are elaborated into five parts:

Environment-based decisions on rehabilitation or demolition.
Resource utilisation in the demolition and construction phase.
Reuse of components.
Reusability.
Ability to change.

Support schemes

Enova is managed by the Ministry of Climate and Environment (Klima- og miljødepartementet) and aims to support Norway's transition to a low-emission society. In 2021, Enova assigned 4.6 billion Norwegian kroner to more than 5,500 projects and 7,100 measures in Norwegian homes, which is expected to reduce emissions by approximately 301,000 tons of CO2-equivalent (Enova, u.d.).

Enova offers targeted support in several areas, including circular building, in order to speed up the transition to a circular economy, help facilitate the availability of reuse materials, and increase knowledge and expertise. It is possible to apply to Enova for support for a ”feasibility study regarding reuse and flexibility” and ”project planning for reuse”.

Klimasats is a support scheme for municipalities and counties established in 2016 that aims to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and contribute to the transition to a low-emission society. Projects involving circular buildings are among the projects which are prioritised for subsidies. In the National Budget for 2023, 100 million NKR is set aside for Klimasats, and the Norwegian Environmental Directory decides which projects are supported each year (Miljødirektoratet, 2022).

Tools

There are several tools which have been developed to overcome the barriers regarding the challenging logistics and markets for selling used building materials. The Norwegian Building Authority (Direktoratet for byggkvalitet, DIBK) launched a digital guide on how to utilise used building materials.

A marketplace for selling and buying used building materials is essential for implementing a circular economy in the building and construction sector. Some of the tools which are currently used in the Norwegian market are mentioned below.

The tools Rehub, Loopfront, and Materia facilitate the mapping and sharing of reusable goods, as well as the sale of reusable materials. Rehub offers technical testing and re-documentation, logistics such as storage and transport, the mapping of materials, and risk distribution. Loopfront, launched in 2019 and updated in 2021, covers the process from mapping and documentation to logistics and reporting. Materia is linked to other platforms, such as the Circular Resource Center initiated by Pådriv.

Madaster contains reporting and analysis tools for new and existing buildings and infrastructure. The platform facilitates a circular economy by assigning materials an identity in a digital register. The tool contains a carbon calculator for the building's various life cycle phases. Madaster is used in several European countries and was launched on the Norwegian Market in the fall of 2022.

Tvinn Solutions (previously Vriml) and Again X are other tools which have been developed to facilitate the reuse of goods and materials.

5.4.2. State of circular construction in Norway

The construction and real estate sector play an important role in the green shift and is of great importance for Norway to reach its climate goals. The sector uses large volumes of primary materials, and a large amount of waste is not recycled. Approximately 50 per cent of the total climate impact of buildings over a lifetime originates from the use and transport of materials (Grønn byggallianse, n.d. b).

The Norwegian construction sector has a resource footprint of 43 million tonnes that accounts for 18 per cent of the entire material footprint in the country. The sector also directly emits 4 million tonnes, or 6 per cent, of the country’s CO₂ equivalent and 9.5 million tonnes, or 15 per cent, when operational energy use is considered. Only 2.4 per cent of the 235 million tonnes of materials consumed in Norway each year is circulated. Norway’s circularity rate is thus below the global average of 8.6 per cent according to Circle Economy (CE, 2020).

In 2021, the construction sector in Norway generated 1.8 million tonnes of waste, a decrease of approximately 15 per cent compared to 2020, but it is still the leading sector generating waste. About 42 per cent of the waste originated from demolition, 33 per cent from new constructions, and 26 per cent from rehabilitation projects (SSB, 2022a). In 2020, 64 per cent of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste was prepared for reuse, recycled, or subject to material recovery (Eurostat, 2023).

Brick and concrete waste are the largest fraction, totalling 700,000 out of the 1.8 million tonnes of C&D waste generated in 2021. Brick and concrete waste originate from demolition activity (450,000 tonnes), rehabilitation (450,000 tonnes), and new constructions (100,000 tonnes). Approximately 160,000 tonnes of brick and concrete waste was classified as hazardous in 2021. In 2021, most of the brick and concrete waste material was recycled (70%), whereas the rest ended up in landfills (27%) (SSB, 2022a).

Material recycling of construction waste in Norway has varied over time. At around the turn of the century, approximately 80 per cent of the waste ended up in landfills (NHP5, 2021). In 2021, approximately 55 per cent of the total waste material from the construction industry was recycled or prepared for reuse. Approximately 19 per cent underwent energy recovery, and 23 per cent ended up in landfills (SSB, 2022b). It is assumed that the amount of waste that has been sent to landfills has been reduced due to changes in the Waste Regulations.

Figure 5 – Waste amounts fractions (tonnes)

Figure 6 – Waste amounts and treatment of waste originating from construction, rehabilitation, and demolition in 2021

5.5. Sweden

5.5.1. Framework conditions for circular construction in Sweden

Strategy and Policy

In July 2020, a national Strategy for a Circular Economy was launched by the Government of Sweden (Government Offices of Sweden, 2020b). The strategy aims to accelerate the implementation of the transition to a circular economy in Sweden and to achieve the global goals set out in the 2030 Agenda.

The Strategy contains the following focus areas (IEA Bioenergy, 2020):

A circular economy through sustainable production and product design
A circular economy through sustainable ways of consuming and using materials, products, and services.
A circular economy though toxin-free and circular eco cycles
A circular economy as a driving force for the business sector and other actors through measures to promote innovation and circular business models

The actions described are divided into four different focus areas that describe the transition goals and contain sub-targets. Specific sub-targets that concern circular construction are (Government Offices of Sweden, 2020b):

Product passport for better knowledge
Climate declarations for new buildings
Mission to transform premises to housing
Public circular procurement

Sweden aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2045 and remain climate-positive thereafter. This means that the territorial emissions must be 85 per cent lower than those of 1990 by 2045 (Naturvårdsverket, 2022a). There are four intermediate goals to measure progress. The 2045 goal includes total territorial emissions, but the milestone goals include not what is within the EU ETS (Emission Trading System), but rather the incineration plants and energy-intensive industry (Naturvårdsverket, 2022b).

The building and infrastructure sectors in Sweden are responsible for 20 per cent of total emissions and one third of all waste. The largest sources of emissions are the production of materials and products and energy use in the use-phase of the building. The building sector is included in the national goal of net-zero emissions 2045. By 2030, the building sector should have cut emissions by 50 per cent. In the roadmap for a fossil-free sector, circular flows are included as a measure to decrease the amount of waste and lower the impact on global warming (Fossilfritt Sverige, 2018).

Building regulations

PBL, BBR and EKS

Constructing and renovating buildings in Sweden is done within the framework of the Boverkets byggregler (BFS 2011:6, BBR) and the EKS (European construction standard) (BFS 2011:10, EKS).

The BBR regulates technical requirements such as fire safety, noise protection, and energy management, thus implementing the demands laid out in the Planning and Building Act (Plan- och bygglagen (2010:900), PBL). The EKS contains regulations regarding the carrying capacity and strength of materials and products. These regulations are adapted over time to reflect changes in the PBL, new knowledge, or adjustments to the EU laws (BBR, 2021). In addition, Boverket is currently working on providing guidance in terms of the dismantling and reuse of load-bearing structures (i.e., steel beams). The main focus is clarifying what the building legislation actually requires and how a contractor can assure that the products are suitable for use.

The contractor is responsible for ensuring that the building products are suitable for the intended application. The PBL includes requirements on the completed building, the used building products, and their properties. These requirements include, for example: load-bearing capacity, fire protection characteristics, insulation properties, and moisture durability. Material properties can change in-situ in a building and during the removal process. However, for materials to be reused, they must meet the same technical requirements as new materials. This is important for circular construction since the products’ properties affect how they can be reused or recycled.

The PBL states that building products should be appropriate for the intended use of the construction for which the builder is responsible. To decide if they are appropriate, the properties must have been assessed and documented. If no assessment is made, the builder must otherwise verify the suitability of the products/components, a process which will be clarified in the coming construction regulations currently under development (Boverket, 2021).

Waste regulations

Regulation of waste management in the construction sector in Sweden is divided between the Environmental Code, which sets the framework for waste management, and the Planning and Building Act (PBL), which provides further rules for waste generated during renovation and construction.

PBL

In areas subject to zoning plans, it is often necessary to apply for and obtain a demolition permit before demolition or removal begins. Outside zoned areas, it is usually only necessary to notify the relevant authorities of the intention to demolish a building. The application should include a control plan, which includes a waste management plan. This should include the results of a material inventory, which details what components can be reused and how they will be disposed of, and what wastes will arise during demolition and how they will be disposed of, all with the aim of increasing recycling and the removal and safe treatment of hazardous wastes (Boverket, 2017).

Waste Ordinance (2020:614) (Riksdagen, 2020) demands the separate on-site collection of:

wood,
minerals consisting of concrete, brick, clinker, ceramics, or stone,
metal,
glass,
plastic,
plaster,

hazardous wastes (must be kept separate from these fractions and each other),
waste falling under the producer’s responsibility,
combustible waste (i.e., the combustible waste that remains after the above types of waste have been sorted out).

The Environmental Code

Before deconstructing or demolishing a building, a material inventory must be made (Swedish EPA, n.d.). This identifies any hazardous substances present in the building and materials that can be recycled or reused. Generally, the materials and building components in an end-of-life building are in a different condition than their initial/original state. The load-bearing capacity of a wooden beam may be reduced, the bricks on the façade stuck to the mortar, or the gypsum panels may be fire-damaged. This means that they may no longer have the appropriate properties or qualities, and their technical certification of performance may no longer apply. This may prohibit the reuse of a component in another building. Since the requirements from Boverket are compulsory, the materials/products must be, if possible, recovered or reconditioned before reuse in another project. If products are recovered and/or reconditioned, the products’ suitability to be reused is recognised, thus facilitating circular flows of materials in the construction industry.

Climate declaration

As of 1 January 2022, it has been mandatory for building developers to publish a climate declaration in order to achieve final notification for a building. The climate declaration should be prepared according to the standard EN 15978 and include module A1-A5, for the foundation, climatic barrier, and interior walls. The legislation currently only demands a calculation: there is no demand to meet a specific performance criterion. However, the process of drafting these declarations and the supporting calculations will dramatically increase the knowledge and available information about embedded carbon among stakeholders throughout all parts of the value chain. Boverket has suggested that limits for the climate impact should apply from 2027 and be 20-30 per cent lower than a reference-value study (Boverket, 2020).

However, on behalf of Boverket, the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, is investigating the possibility of introducing limit values before 2027, and how the demand can be broadened to cover renovation and extension projects. It might also include further life cycle phases (some relevant aspects of Modules B and C) as well as provide groundwork for the calculation. KTH will present its findings in the first half of 2023 (Boverket, 2020). Since reuse is an effective way of lowering the climate impact (Andersson, et al., 2022), the limit values may be important to increase reuse in the construction sector.

Certifications

The main certification systems used in Sweden are BREEAM, LEED, “Miljöbyggnad”, and the new NollCO2. The certification systems include different aspects of sustainability. These certification systems have components focusing on LCA or climate impact from a life cycle perspective. Moreover, LEED has credits that include recycled material and extended producer responsibility (U.S. GBC, 2022a).

The Swedish sustainability certification body, SGBC (Sweden Green Building Council), is currently working on adapting the certification systems (BREEAM, NollCO₂ and Miljöbyggnad) to the EU Taxonomy and the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council), and adapting LEED to the EU Taxonomy (U.S. GBC, 2022c), thus providing a much larger focus on circular construction than the systems have today.

[EXAMPLE – NollCO₂]

NollCO₂ is a new certification programme developed and administered by the Swedish Green Buildings Council. It functions as an extension to existing certification schemes and aims to achieve net-zero life cycle climate impact in new buildings. It seeks to push developers toward net-zero projects by supporting and recognising carbon reductions beyond those of existing certification schemes and allows developers to balance any emissions above what would be considered net-zero by investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and in some cases, carbon off-setting (NollCO2, u.d.).

Networks and support mechanisms

Centrum för cirkulärt byggande (CCBuild, u.d.) is a knowledge platform and knowledge centre for the circular economy in the Swedish construction sector. It is anchored in the Swedish Environmental Institute (IVL, u.d.) and developed within the Swedish Innovation Agency’s (Vinnova, u.d.) Challenge-Driven Innovation Program. It provides digital tools and services, a marketplace for materials, products and circular services, and exhaustive reference projects.

5.5.2. State of circular construction in Sweden

Sweden extracts 266.7 million tonnes of resources each year—26.4 tonnes per capita—which is the fourth biggest resource extraction per capita in the world. Furthermore, the consumption of resources is 24.8 tonnes per capita, which represents twice the global average (CE, 2022).

The building sector produced 14.6 million tonnes of waste in 2020, approximately 5 per cent of which was hazardous waste. This is close to 40 per cent of all waste in Sweden excluding mining waste. A little over 50 per cent—or 7.4 million tonnes—of this waste was recycled, while a further 12 per cent was incinerated for energy recovery. The remainder was disposed of, primarily in landfills and ”other” disposal sites (Naturvårdsverket, 2020).

According to Eurostat, 74 per cent of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste in 2020 was prepared for reuse, recycled, or subject to material recovery (Eurostat, 2023). However, nearly half of this was utilised in backfilling and landscaping operations (Almasi, 2018).

Aside from national initiatives, larger cities are also deeply involved in circular construction. For example, the Stockholm municipality has developed an action plan for circular construction (Stockholms stad, 2021), while the City of Göteborg has launched similar initiatives centred around Circular Göteborg (Göteborgs stad, u.d.) that are based on an investigation of cooperation between Sweden’s metropolitan areas on circular construction (Göteborgs stad, 2021).

Boverket is currently working intensely with the tools and methods for the transformation to a circular economy in the building sector (Boverket, 2021c). Expected to be finalised in 2024, the work involves:

Suggesting measures to promote circular construction and circular management
Analysing the extent to which demolition can be avoided as a whole and promoting this measure
Developing indicators that can be used to track the transition
Disseminating information and providing guidance

A study of the current state of reuse in the Gothenburg region showed that many of the bigger real estate managers and clients are interested in reuse; however, smaller real estate managers must also be engaged. For architects, the same problem arises; bigger firms offer reuse-services, but this is not common for smaller firms (Wennersjö, et al., 2021).

5.6. European regulatory framework

This section briefly outlines the key components of the EU regulatory framework that influence the development of circular construction in the Nordic countries.

5.6.1. European Green Deal

The European Green Deal (EC, 2019) is the overarching EU strategy tying economy, development, climate, and sustainability together. It aims to transform the EU into a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy ensuring:

No net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050
Economic growth decoupled from resource use
No person and no place are left behind

One of the core efforts of the European Green Deal is “building and renovating in a resource- and energy-efficient way” and ensuring that “the design of new and renovated buildings at all stages is in line with the needs of the circular economy” (EC, 2019). The renovation of buildings is a vital part of the European Green Deal, and specific targets for renovation are anticipated.

5.6.2. Circular Economy Action Plan

The EU’s new Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) is one of the key building blocks of the European Green Deal. It addresses with the European economy broadly, although it does have specific initiatives directed at the construction and building sectors (EC, 2020). These include:

Revising the Construction Product regulation
Promoting tools to improve the durability and adaptability of buildings
Using the Levels framework to integrate LCA into sustainable procurement and sustainable finance frameworks
Considering recovery targets for specific fractions of C&D waste
Promoting the rehabilitation of brownfield sites, minimising soil sealing, and increasing the safe, sustainable, and circular use of excavated soils.

A proposal for a revised Construction Products Regulation was published in 2022 (see below), while the Levels framework forms the backbone of the KPIs used in the construction-relevant parts of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) (EC, 2022).

5.6.3. Waste Framework Directive

The Waste Framework Directive (EC, 2008) defines the overarching framework for managing waste in the European Union. Article 11 of the Waste Framework Directive sets a recycling target for non-hazardous construction and demolition waste of 70 per cent by 2025. The definition of “recycling” in the context of this target includes preparing for reuse, material recycling, and material recovery, including backfilling operations. Article 11 also demands source-separation of at least wood, mineral fractions (concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics, stones), metal, glass, plastic, and plaster. Furthermore, Article 11 includes a clause specifying that by the end of 2024, the Commission shall consider setting targets for preparing construction and demolition waste and its material-specific fractions for reuse and recycling.

5.6.4. CPR, CE-marking, DoP

The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) (EC, 2011) dictates that building products that are covered by a harmonised standard and sold in Europe must bear a CE-mark and comply with the DoP (Declaration of Performance) when put on market (EC, 2011). A harmonised standard for a given construction product according to the CPR was a standard developed by CEN following a mandate by the European Commission published in the Official journal (OJ).

The producer, distributor, or importer of the product is responsible for ensuring that their product fulfils the CE-marking requirements. Criteria for the CE-mark address safety, health, and environmental protection (Your Europe, 2022). However, it is the responsibility of the developer to make sure the building product is used in the right way according to the national building regulations. The CE-mark also defines the monitoring process for ensuring that products continue to meet the requirements: the monitoring process is usually performed from the perspective of new production based on a prescriptive manual and controlled at the factory; it is not possible or permitted to reapply the CE-standard outside that setting. A developer may reuse products in a building but must make sure the product is fit for the new usage (Gabrielsson & Brander, 2021).

The DoP (Declaration of Performance) provides information about the performance of products. Apart from the harmonised standards, if a European Technical Assessment has been performed for a product, it also needs a DoP (EC, u.d.).

A revision of the Construction Products Regulation is currently underway, and a proposal for a revised version was published in 2022 (EC, 2022). The key objectives of the revision are to improve the functioning of the internal market for construction products, enhance the sustainability of construction products, and introduce further health, safety, and environmental requirements for construction products. Of particular relevance to circular construction, the new product requirements aim to make construction products more durable, recyclable, repairable, and easier to remanufacture (EC, 2022).

5.6.5. Level(s)

Level(s) is an assessment and reporting tool for the sustainability performance of buildings. It was created by the European Commission to align the building sector with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the 2030 Agenda, and the European Green Deal. It is a tool to measure the environmental impact of a building throughout its life cycle. Furthermore, it is part of the technical screening of the taxonomy (EC, u.d.). It is based on six main goals measured by 16 indicators which include energy performance, Life cycle Global Warming Potential (GWP), construction and demolition waste, and water usage (EC, u.d.).

5.6.6. REACH

The EU’s REACH Regulation (EC, 2006) aims to increase the protection of people and the environment from the risks of chemicals. REACH is short for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals. If a building product contains a substance that is on the REACH list and present in a concentration higher than 0.1 weight-percent, the substance must be declared to ECHA (the European Chemicals Agency) (Boverket, 2017). It is the responsibility of the developer to make sure that the building products that are used are safe to use: in the case of reuse, it may be difficult to know what chemical substances are in these older products.

5.6.7. EU taxonomy

The EU Taxonomy Regulation (EC, 2020), along with the associated Implementing and Delegated Acts, seeks to steer capital toward identifiable sustainable investments, drive compliance with the European Green Deal (EC, 2019), and meet the EU’s climate objectives. The Taxonomy demands that an increasing number of public interest companies (large companies and publicly traded companies) calculate and report the share of their activities that are aligned with the Taxonomy. The EU Taxonomy defines economic activities that can be sustainable within six environmental areas, and then defines criteria within these six environmental areas that relevant activities must meet to qualify as sustainable. Criteria for each of the six environmental areas define conditions that provide a ”significant contribution” and create conditions that ”do no significant harm” (DNSH-criteria). For an activity to be classified as aligned with the EU Taxonomy and thereby ”sustainable”, it must make at least one ”significant contribution” across the six environmental goals while doing ”no significant harm”’ within the other five.

The six objectives that are established in the taxonomy (EC, 2020) are:

Climate change mitigation
Climate change adaptation
The sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources
The transition to a circular economy
Pollution prevention and control
The protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems

The criteria defining a significant contribution to “the transition to a circular economy” are only in the draft phase at the time of writing—only the criteria for the first two environmental goals have been published so far.

The activities defined within the Taxonomy Regulation and implementation acts that are relevant for the construction industry are presented in the Technical Annex of the Taxonomy Report (EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, 2020):

7.1 Construction of new buildings

7.2 Renovation of existing buildings

For the building sector, the activities that are considered sustainable are aligned with the Level(s) framework, which is the standardised method used to measure the sustainability of buildings by the European Commission (SGBC, 2022).

5.6.8. Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

Continuing from the EU Taxonomy Regulation, the CSDR Directive (EC, 2022) implements mandatory non-financial reporting standards and requirements for companies operating in the EU. These standards are set out in the currently draft form of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (EFRAG, u.d.). One of the five thematic areas under Environmental standards is Resource Use and Circular Economy (EFRAG, 2022). This focuses on how businesses report their policies for addressing resource use, the flow of materials into and out of the business, the setting and monitoring of targets for these flows, and their financial implications.

5.6.9. New European Bauhaus

The New European Bauhaus initiative (EC, 2021) connects the essence of the European Green Deal with the built environment. It aims to bridge science and technology, art and culture, harness the green and digital challenges in transformation, and address complex social problems though co-creation. The New European Bauhaus initiative is based on a desire for sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion in the built environment. As well as drawing on the existing policy framework, the initiative will be implemented through a variety of mechanisms including financing innovative projects, generating knowledge and experience, promoting the New European Bauhaus culture, investigating innovative funding methods, and regulatory analysis and experimentation.

5. Circular construction in the Nordic countries

5.1. Denmark

5.1.1. Framework conditions for circular construction

Policy & strategy

Building regulations

Public Procurement

Waste regulation

Standardisation

Nordic collaboration

Networks and support mechanisms

5.1.2. State of circular construction

5.2. Finland

5.2.1. Framework conditions for circular construction in Finland

Policy & Strategy

Building regulations

Waste legislation

Voluntary agreements

Environmental Certification Schemes

RTS certification system

Stakeholders involved in CE activities

5.2.2. State of Circular Construction in Finland

5.3. Iceland

5.3.1. Framework conditions for circular construction

Policy & Strategy

Building regulations

Sales platforms

Stakeholders involved in Circular Economy activities

Nordic collaboration

5.3.2. State of Circular Construction in Iceland

5.4. Norway

5.4.1. Framework conditions for circular construction in Norway

Strategies and policy

Public procurement

Building regulations

Waste regulations

Standardisation

Organisations and initiatives

Support schemes

Tools

5.4.2. State of circular construction in Norway

5.5. Sweden

5.5.1. Framework conditions for circular construction in Sweden

Strategy and Policy

Building regulations

Waste regulations

The Environmental Code

Climate declaration

Certifications

[EXAMPLE – NollCO2]

Networks and support mechanisms

5.5.2. State of circular construction in Sweden

5.6. European regulatory framework

5.6.1. European Green Deal

5.6.2. Circular Economy Action Plan

5.6.3. Waste Framework Directive

5.6.4. CPR, CE-marking, DoP

5.6.5. Level(s)

5.6.6. REACH

5.6.7. EU taxonomy

5.6.8. Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

5.6.9. New European Bauhaus

[EXAMPLE – NollCO₂]