Construction and construction accounts for approximately one third of Denmark's total CO₂emissions and at the same time the sector accounts for as much as 40 per cent. of the country's waste. We therefore have a resource consumption that is out of control, because the way we build today requires far more resources than we have available. This concerns both resources found on Danish soil such as sand, stone and gravel, but also iron, steel and aluminium, which we are dependent on being able to import from outside.

A circular restructuring of construction will lead to new ways of building – where the use of virgin materials is minimized, the lifespan of buildings is extended, and where building materials are most often reused or recycled. It will require us to radically change the way we think about construction, but the benefits are clear.

The climate burden will decrease if we start to recycle materials. For example the total climate impact from masonry made of recycled bricks is four times lower than the climate impact from conventional bricks. Similarly, recycling of concrete beams, steel beams, roof tiles and aluminum sheets has great climate reduction potential.

It will also make us less dependent on new raw materials, which is welcome in a world where there is already great pressure on global construction supply chains. For example the prices of iron and steel have exploded in recent years, so a circular restructuring of construction will make the Danish construction industry less vulnerable to rising prices and the battle for the earth's resources.

The circular conversion of construction does not only give Denmark a climate and resource benefit. It will also give us the opportunity to strengthen our competitiveness, create new market opportunities and jobs and ensure quality of life in the built environment.

In order for the circular changeover to gain air under its wings and become the new normal, legislation must be addressed. Although we have seen political initiatives and strategies such as the National Strategy for Sustainable Construction and the revision of the Building Regulations, there is still a long way to go. There are no clear requirements or objectives for circular construction, circular transformation, resource consumption, reuse or recycling of building materials. The building regulations, for example, do not contribute to promoting circularity, and tax legislation in several ways supports demolition and new construction rather than conservation and transformation.

If the politicians want to help ensure the future of Danish construction, they should work for a long-term and courageous political effort to change the construction industry towards circular practices.

A good place to start is to give the Building Regulations a circular overhaul by introducing requirements for lower material consumption, tightening the climate requirements and increasing the incentives to use circular solutions. In addition, the raw material tax should at least be doubled, so that the real climate and resource footprint of building materials is reflected in the price. And on the very large blade, a strategy must be drawn up that defines goals, initiatives and tools to ensure circular construction.

The barriers that stand in the way of the necessary restructuring of the building must be removed. This applies to both the low-hanging regulatory fruits, which in the short term can make it more attractive for the industry to choose a more circular path. But also to ensure long-term, ambitious objectives for circularity and resource consumption by implementing political reforms and necessary legislative changes.

It is time we move from thought to political action.

This debate article was published in Politiken's Byrummonitor on 17 September 2024 and was written by Bjarke Møller, director, Green Transition Denmark

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