Collaboration between different dutch actors
This publication addresses the significant environmental impact of the construction sector, which is responsible for a large portion of material consumption and carbon emissions. It advocates for circular economy principles to create sustainable buildings through innovative design and resource-efficient practices. Highlighting best practices from the Netherlands, it calls for international collaboration to achieve climate neutrality and outlines an action agenda for transitioning to circular buildings at both EU and global levels.
2023
Published by:
Holland Circular Hotspot, the Transition Team Circular Construction Economy, Arcadis and various ministries of the Netherlands
Buildings – both residential and non-residential – make up a significant part of the built environment and are the backbone of a healthy economy. But, the construction sector is one of the largest consumers of (heavy) raw materials. It consumes around 63% of all materials in the world1 and buildings are responsible for a large part of that. Buildings are also responsible for more than 30% of the European carbon footprint and more than 40% of the primary energy consumption in Europe.2 The environmental impact of the buildings sector will be huge if we keep building in the traditional linear way as we do now, as almost 70% of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas by 2050. Additionally, many of the current buildings are aging and need to be replaced or renovated soon, especially in Europe. An upcoming renovation wave of existing building stock and forecasted growth of the amount and size of cities creates momentum for future proof solutions in the buildings sector. New innovations and perspectives can be the solution for future proof buildings that improve quality of life and reduce the heavy toll the sector pressures on our living environment. Circular economy principles can help solve building sector challenges in several ways. Circular design, for instance, pre-integrates lifespan considerations, and future reuse of materials and structures at every stage of building projects. Taking into account renewable and biobased materials as well. But we need to search for an integrated approach, maximising benefits. Installations, for example for heating and cooling, make up an integral part of buildings. Most of the footprint impact of buildings today, takes place during the usage phase. Circular strategies aimed at installations should be incorporated upfront during the design phase. Next to energy efficiency, these strategies should also focus on material resource impact. Strategies can focus on circular manufacturing, new business models like products as a service, digital innovations or lifetime extension bij making installations easy to repair, refurbish or dismantle. This publication explores how circular economy concepts can help tackle the challenges the sector faces, supporting the transition towards a more sustainable and futureproof buildings sector. It showcases best practices from the Netherlands, which is a country with challenging terrains and very few natural resources. An action agenda is presented in the concluding chapter, calling for international cooperation to unlock the potential of circular buildings in the global run towards climate neutrality and circular economy. It proposes an international action agenda which looks in more detail at what is needed to realize the transition to circular buildings on both the EU and international levels.