Adoption of circular economy criteria in the construction sector

Challenge

The megatrend of urbanisation challenges the construction sector to adopt increasingly sustainable practices. Currently, the built environment consumes a major part of our society’s resources. The maintenance of buildings requires a lot of energy, and construction swallows vast amounts of materials. Between 10 and 15% of construction materials end up going to waste during construction work. Urban areas must be designed in such a way that they enable a sustainable way of life.

Solution

Circular economy solutions must be adopted in the planning and implementation of both urban areas and buildings. The circular economy of the built environment cannot be realised without the circular economy of materials: the demand for virgin materials must be minimised, the material and product life cycles must be maximised, and products must be designed so that they can be repaired and reused.

The Green Building Council Finland, the Ministry of the Environment and Sitra have encouraged construction-sector operators to develop circular economy criteria for the property and construction sector (link in Finnish), the adoption of which will be promoted by the parties involved.