Strategies of re-use of building materials and components (BMC) in Scandinavian renovation and transformation projects

Abstract

Re-use of building materials and -components (BMC) in renovation and transformation project has a great potential to capture Circular Economy principles (CE). This study looks at strategies and sustainable development goals among a selection of public and private building owners and how they are practising circular principles in Scandinavian renovation and transformation projects. This is done by studying national and international research literature, national and European (EU) policy documents, business strategy documents and semi-structured in-depth interviews among private and public building owners. In Scandinavia, there are national strategies and regulations that promote circularity within the building sector. However, on a local level, only the large city municipalities have applied this by local guidelines and action plans. The research literature and the building owners interviewed, points towards the need to collaborate to reach national SDG’s. One suggestion is that the building material suppliers take responsibility to store and resell BMC, ensuring quality documentation. The building owners report that the main motivation to do re-use of BMC in renovation projects is the focus on the climate gas reduction, competence development and the internal environmental goals. However, further collaboration, competence and innovation is needed to upscale re-use of BMC to a larger market.