Nordic Networks for Circular Construction

Nordic co-operation is one of the world’s most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involving Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. Nordic co-operation has firm traditions in politics, economics and culture and plays an important role in European and international forums. The Nordic community strives for a strong Nordic Region in a strong Europe. Nordic co-operation promotes regional interests and values in a global world. The values shared by the Nordic countries help make the region one of the most innovative and competitive in the world.

Launched in 2021, the Nordic Networks for Circular Construction (NNCC) was a strategic multi-annual initiative funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Its aim was to spearhead the adoption of circular economy principles within the construction sectors of Nordic countries, aimed to make the region a leader in sustainable and competitive construction and housing by 2030 with minimised environmental and climate impact.

Please also see  Nordic Sustainable Construction and explore the knowledge centre to gather inspiration, information and the newest knowledge on our common path to sustainable construction.

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Nordic Networks for Circular Construction -projektin tavoitteena oli nopeuttaa kiertotalouden parhaiden käytäntöjen käyttöönottoa pohjoismaisella rakennusalalla. Hanke käynnistettiin osana Suomen puheenjohtajuutta Pohjoismaiden ministerineuvostossa. Green Building Council Finland osallistuu projektiin ympäristöministeriön viestintäkumppanina. Perehdy myös Nordic Sustainable Construction -projektiin.

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Policy Pathways for Fostering Circular Transition in Construction in the Nordic Region

Executive Report seeks to synthesise the essential findings from Nordic Networks for Circular Construction (NNCC) -project and and distils them into actionable insights and strategic recommendations to further advance circular construction practices across the Nordic region.

Coordinated by the Ministry of Environment in Finland, the project was ran from 2021-2024, partnering together with the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning; the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in Finland, the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland; the Norwegian Building Authority; the Housing and Construction Authority of Iceland. Published in September 2024.

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Indicator for Circular construction – The role of public procurement

How are the recommended indicators being implemented as part of public procurement for construction projects at the municipal level?

Building on the report “Metrics for Circularity” this study supports the inclusion of circular construction criteria in public procurement. The study has been conducted using a combination of desk research and interviews. For each Nordic country, a municipality that has demonstrated leadership in circular construction has been invited to participate in the study. Semi-structured interviews have been carried out with representatives from the property and, in some cases, the public procurement of the municipalities of Bergen (NO), Copenhagen (DK), Gothenburg (SE), Helsinki (FI), and Reykjavik (IS). Published in August 2024.

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Accelerate Circular Construction – Recommendations for Public Authorities

As a part of a transition to more sustainable, circularity is gaining more and more attention from the Nordic construction sectors. It requires, however, a redefinition of current working practices, thereby becoming a multifaceted challenge for the stakeholders throughout the whole value chain.

Public authorities at the local, national, and Nordic levels are well-positioned to support and lead the transition to circular construction through their broad spectrum of areas of responsibility. To aid that, this research aimed to produce a set of recommendations on how local and national public authorities and the Nordic Council of Ministers can impact circularity in the construction field through advocacy, guidance, and financing. To comprehensively present a Nordic market perspective on circularity, the differences and similarities between Nordic counties had to be addressed. Therefore, this report provides individual perspectives from five Nordic countries and, eventually, synthesizes these findings in the form of recommendations presented below. The recommendations considered three levels: local/​national level, Nordic cooperation, and Nordic advocacy in the EU.
Published in September 2024.

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Metrics for circularity

This report constitutes the final delivery of Work Package 3 in the Nordic Network for Circular Construction (NNCC) programme. The programme’s goal is to accelerate the implementation of circular economy practices in the Nordic construction sector. WP 3 aims to develop a joint Nordic monitoring model for circular construction. The present report summarises findings and conclusions from a two-year effort identifying and analysing indicators for circular construction. Stakeholders from the Nordic countries have been involved in discussing the feasibility and relevance of several hundred indicators. 11 indicators have been thoroughly analysed. A strategy for implementation of the new monitoring framework for circular construction is proposed. Published in June 2024.

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An Invitation to Be Exceptional

– A Narrative for the Nordic Baukultur.
The Nordic countries are known for successful societal transformations that have improved the quality of life. Our built environment has reflected these transformations until now. As we have entered the current multi-crisis era, our perception of the built environment must once again be transformed. This requires a cultural shift. In this report, we present a narrative for the Nordic Baukultur, a vision to push us forward. Published in May 2024.

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Analysis of Barriers and Possibilities

A circular construction sector is one in which every part of the process of deciding, designing, and constructing new buildings is rethought to include exploiting the value of the materials already present in the built environment and ensure that the buildings designed and built today can maintain their value in the future, either as buildings, or in their constituent components. A report including an analysis of barriers and possibilities was published in October 2023.

Report explored the current state of and framework conditions for the development of a circular construction sector in the Nordic countries, and through consultation with the construction value chain, it identifies barriers that limit the transition to and opportunities that could be exploited to support a more circular approach in the circular construction industry. A main takeaway from the analysis of these barriers is that they are heavily interlinked. For example, lack of experience and knowledge within the sector stems from a lack of opportunity to gain that experience and knowledge, while that same lack of experience and knowledge means that it is difficult to commission projects with a circular focus. A comprehensive catalogue of these barriers, together with potential solutions, can be found in Chapter 7 of the report.

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