News from Nordic Sustainable Construction

Nordic Highlights on Sustainable Construction and What the Future Will Bring?

Publiceret 30-09-2024

Circularity in Nordic cities, reselling of reused construction products, BIM-models and guidelines for emission-free construction sites. These were some of the topics presented and discussed at the Nordic Sustainable Construction reference group meeting last week in Copenhagen on a sunny autumn day.

Group photo from reference group meeting

The reference group to Nordic Sustainable Construction met to share the latest results from the work packages and discuss the future of the Nordic collaboration on construction. Besides an overview of the deliveries from each of the 5 work packages, a workshop was held to reflect on this phase of the Nordic Sustainable Construction programme, and discuss how these learnings could be implemented in a new potential collaboration.

The Nordic countries take turn hosting the reference group meetings of Nordic Sustainable Construction. At the meeting, all work package leaders presented their most recent results, highlighting these accomplishments:

The Work Package on Nordic Harmonisation of LCA

Latest results:

A webinar was hosted in June on Nordic view on data needs and scenario settings for full life cycle building environmental assessment. Watch the recording here.
A recommendations report has been published on harmonisation of decarbonisation of the building stock
Clinics with consultancy and expert support for contractors to improve sustainability in their projects. First clinic was held in September
BIM models and a report on BIM for building LCA has been published and shared, as well as 7 instruction videos
Launch webinar on the project low carbon clinics

Upcoming activities:

External support clinics for construction companies and their sustainability initiatives
There will be two more webinars on low carbon clinics

The Work Package on Circular Business Models and Procurement

Latest results:

A report about the circular procurement project with the title “Circular construction in Nordic cities” has been published
A new collaboration with Nordic Circular Hotspot has been established on the Re-trade project, aiming at developing a platform for the reselling of reused construction products in the Nordics.

Upcoming activities:

Recently launched the Nordic Circular Design Programme which aims to equip Nordic companies for the transition to circular business models and products, aligned with forthcoming Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), and enhance competitiveness in the shift towards increased circularity.

The Work Package on Sustainable Building Materials and Architecture

Latest results:

Work Package 3 has published articles on Material Hierarchies and The Underrepresented Interests in Construction
A combined publication titled "Building within the safe operating space - Nordic insights on sustainable construction” is now available

Upcoming activities:

A final recommendations report

About the Nordic Sustainable Construction Reference Group Meetings

The quarterly reference group meetings in the Nordic Sustainable Construction programme is an important tool in our programme’s work towards harmonisation and the green transition of the Nordic construction.

Government representatives from Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Faeroe Islands, Greenland and Åland are represented in the reference group to ensure that the progress, knowledge and findings gathered in the programme are anchored in all the Nordic countries.

The Work Package on Emission-free Construction Sites

Latest results:

The Declaration has been shared at the Nordic Climate Forum for Construction.
Newsletters have been shared, and more will come.
A report on Guidelines for Emission-free Construction Sites was published and launched at a webinar. Watch the recording here.

Upcoming activities:

A survey targeted all relevant actors in construction is currently being shared through websites and newsletters.
Report on Standards, rules and regulations for Emission-free Construction Sites.

The Work Package of the Programme Secretariat and Competences for Reuse in Construction

Latest results:

The educational material Skills4Reuse is being disseminated to the Nordic vocational schools, and a Faroese language version is being developed.
The results of the whole programme are being shared on various channels and at relevant conferences. Latest was the planning of and participation at the Nordic Climate Forum for Construction. Read our news article about the forum here.

Upcoming activities:

Share key findings from Nordic Sustainable Construction at the 3rd OECD Sustainable Buildings Roundtable

Coffee table book: Toolbox for Future-proof Construction

The knowledge created in the collaboration, has been shared along the way. Much new knowledge has been created and at the meeting, the reference group discussed the importance of aggregating and disseminating the results and knowledge created in the past three years and ensuring, that it is put to use. Therefore, the programme is working on a Toolbox for Future-proof Construction, where the learnings, guidelines and recommendations will be shared. The toolbox will be presented and available at the end of the year.

Site visit

The existing building stock - encompassing embodied carbon, adaptive reuse, space utilization, and other factors - has become a recurring and increasingly important topic in recent years. It is evident that a sustainable transition in the construction industry can only be achieved by prioritising the maintenance, reuse and transformation of existing buildings. However, building upon and redeveloping what already exists presents challenges.

To explore examples of how to renovate older apartments and update them to meet modern standards and lifestyles, the reference group visited a redevelopment project involving almost an entire city block, funded by the Grundejernes Investeringsfond (The Landowners' Investment Foundation). The project showcased various apartment sizes at different stages - before, during, and after renovation - offering valuable insights and inspiration on how to address the growing housing demand in urban areas and accommodate a changing sociodemographic landscape.

Thanks to Bo Bjerre Hansen from Grundejernes Investeringsfond (The Landowners' Investment Foundation), Kjeld Lercke from Lercke Engineering and Frederik Ahlefeldt-Laurvig for the guided tour.