Nordic assessment methods for reused construction products

Introducing RECON-NORDICS a New Nordic Initiative Supporting Circular Structural Concrete

Publiceret 14-08-2026

A new Nordic project will take a step towards circularity of structural concrete products, by focusing on assessment methods for reclaimed structural concrete products. An effort to tackle the challenges of reuse of construction products by creating the basis for a common Nordic approach aligned with the EU Construction Products Regulation (CPR) for the following reclaimed structural concrete products: hollow-core slabs, linear precast structural elements (beams and columns), and cut-out elements from cast-in-place structures. The project is led by SINTEF and brings together 5 research institutes and universities from Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Work began July 2026 and runs until autumn 2027.

A push towards common assessment methods for reclaimed concrete products

While the European policy landscape increasingly supports reuse through whole-life carbon assessment, resource efficiency, and improved sustainability reporting, reuse is still not explicitly required, and practical implementation remains limited.

The Nordic construction sector operates within this broader EU framework but is characterised by strong regional alignment and proactive policy development. Despite this, the actual uptake of reuse of construction products remains limited, leaving key barriers such as lack of standardised methods for documenting performance of reused elements, uncertainty in interpretation and compliance with building regulations, missing or inconsistent product data, and economic and logistical constraints for reuse markets to be tackled. This initiative aims to address some of these challenges by creating a CPR aligned assessment approach for selected product groups. Under the CPR framework, the properties of construction products are documented on the Declaration of Performance (DoP) and CE marking, based on harmonised standards or EU Technical Assessments. This ensures consistent assessment and communication of essential characteristics across the EU. However, existing harmonised standards are primarily designed for new products, with limited applicability to reuse.

Therefore, the Circularity Work Package has awarded the contract of creating common CPR aligned assessment approaches for reclaimed construction products to the consortium with the following partners: SINTEF, Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the Danish Technological Institute (DTI) and Tampere University (TAU). The consortium has named the project: Methods for performance and conformity assessment of REclaimed structural CONcrete elements in the NORDICS, and we hereby gladly introduce RECON-NORDICS.

Together they have already taken part in a series of related projects including: Design for disassembly and reuse (SirkBygg), Circular value chains for reuse of construction products (Vendom), Reuse of cast-in-place concrete structures (GjenOm), Resource-Efficient Structural Design (REStructureD), Reuse and Recycling of construction and demolition waste (RE4), Quality assurance and technical framework (Återhus 3.0), Reuse of prefabricated concrete elements: Logistics and business models (Återbruk av prefabricerade betongelement), Reuse of hollow-core slabs in a real world project (IKEA case study), Assessment methodologies for reused structural elements (StructuralReuse), Reuse of precast concrete elements ((P)RECAST), Recirkuler byggematerialer, Ressource Blokken, and Reuse of Concrete Elements (ReCreate).

The selected product group(s)

The consortium has selected to focus on indoor load-bearing concrete elements, as these offer particularly high potential to support the green, circular and digital transition of the construction sector. Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials and a major contributor to resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Reuse of structural concrete elements enables retention of embodied carbon, materials, and adds economic value.

The focus is further narrowed to indoor structural components, which exhibit a higher reuse potential due to reduced exposure to environmental degradation mechanisms such as frost damage and reinforcement corrosion ((P)RECAST Report 3 Development in legislation with focus on durability of precast concrete elements, 2025). This leads to more predictable residual performance and lower uncertainty, improving the feasibility of reuse.

The project will focus on three categories of structural concrete component groups, selected to reflect different levels of maturity and to maximise both impact and innovation potential. The selected groups are described below in order of maturity, ranked from highest to lowest:

Hollow-core slabs: At the highest level of maturity are precast hollow-core slabs (HCS), regulated by well-established product standards, e.g. EN 1168, which represent the most advanced case for structural reuse. Reuse-specific standards providing guidance on condition assessment of HCS supported by testing are available by now. In addition, successful demonstration projects, confirm the technical feasibility of reuse in practice.
Linear precast elements - beams and columns: The second category comprises linear precast structural elements, such as beams and columns, typically used in frame structures and regulated under existing product standards, e.g. EN 13225. Reuse of beam–column systems is less mature, with lack of dedicated reuse standards and experience largely based on research, case-specific pilot projects and solutions.
Cut-out elements from cast-in-place structures: At the most exploratory level, the proposal considers reclaimed, cut-out components from cast-in-place reinforced concrete (RC) structures, such as slabs. This category offers exceptional potential, as a large share of the existing EU building stock consists of cast-in-place concrete. Unlocking reuse in this domain could therefore yield very high environmental and economic benefits at system level. Compared to prefabricated elements, these components present additional challenges due to expected higher variations in properties and since the elements were not originally designed as standalone products.

Project efforts will primarily prioritise the two prefabricated component groups (HCS and linear precast elements), while exploratory work on cut-out in-situ casted elements will address key knowledge gaps and prepare the ground for future regulatory and standardisation developments.

Purpose and expected outcome

The purpose of this project is to support the safe, efficient and climate-optimised reuse of construction products by taking a step in the agenda of assessing the essential characteristics of used construction products in a manner similar to the CPR. It is sought to align Nordic approaches for selected construction product groups based on existing methods for assessment.

The expected outcome is a step towards a CPR‑aligned framework that enables selected used product groups to be assessed, documented and declared with confidence, thereby reducing uncertainty and cost and unlocking significant climate‑ and resource‑saving potential in the building sector. The project will work through six inter‑linked subtasks, each validated by a Nordic reference group and presented to Nordic construction authorities.

What the work actually entails

The project is organised into six tightly linked subtasks, each delivering concrete outputs that together form a CPR aligned approach for assessment of the three products under scope.

Subtask 1: Nordic Reference Group
A cross‑sector advisory board will be set up to validate every step of the project. Their feedback will be captured in consensus reports that guide the subsequent work.

Subtask 2: Identify CPR Characteristics
The eight Basic Requirements for Construction Works (structural integrity, fire safety, durability, etc.) will be mapped onto the specific needs of the selected product groups. The result will be a detailed list of performance characteristics that must be demonstrated for a reclaimed element to obtain a CPR‑compatible Declaration of Performance.

Subtask 3: Prioritise Documentable Parameters
Not every characteristic can be measured easily or affordably. This package will evaluate which parameters can be reliably assessed with existing or slightly adapted test methods, and will rank them according to feasibility, cost and uncertainty.

Subtask 4: Map Existing Methods & Standards
A comprehensive survey of current EN‑standards, national guidelines and industry practices will be carried out. The team will assess how well each method assesses the identified parameters and will highlight gaps where new procedures are needed.

Subtask 5: Documentation & Declaration Framework
The findings from the previous packages will be turned into a practical, CPR‑compatible documentation scheme. This includes sample Declaration of Performance forms, a template for the Digital Product Passport in line with ongoing EU research efforts, and guidance on how to communicate knowledge gaps and uncertainties to designers and regulators.

Subtask 6: Synthesis & Dissemination
All results will be consolidated into a user‑friendly toolbox, published through Nordic Sustainable Construction on the dedicated task site, and presented through webinars, policy briefs and stakeholder workshops. The aim is to ensure that the knowledge reaches designers, contractors, authorities and standardisation committees as quickly as possible.

Project facts

What: CPR-aligned Nordic assessment approaches for indoor structural concrete.
Who: A five-partner consortium led by SINTEF (project manager Ramon Hingorani), RISE, DTU, DTI and TAU with a reference group
When: July 2026 to autumn 2027
Budget: 950.000 DKK

Background Regulatory and policy landscape

The European (EU) policy framework for the construction sector is anchored in the EU Green Deal (EU Commission, 2019) and the Circular Economy Action Plan (EU Commission, 2020), which aim to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 while decoupling economic growth from resource use through circular material flows and improved resource efficiency. The sector is central to this transition due to its high material consumption, waste generation, and embodied emissions.

The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) and CPR Acquis

The EU Construction Products Regulation (EU Commission, Construction Products Regulation, 2019) provides a harmonised framework for placing construction products on the EU market, establishing a common technical language for expressing performance in relation to the Basic Requirements for Construction Works (BRCW). It relies on essential characteristics defined through harmonised standards and EU Assessment Documents (EADs), enabling comparability and transparency across the market.

A key limitation of the original CPR (Regulation (EU) No 305/2011) was its focus on new construction products, with limited applicability to reused products. This created uncertainty regarding the regulatory status of reclaimed components, particularly where documentation is missing or performance has changed during use. As a result, reuse has largely remained a national issue with limited harmonised European guidance (Policies Enabling the Reuse of Construction Products in the Nordics, 2023). These barriers are linked to broader CPR deficiencies, including: incomplete and inconsistent coverage of harmonised standards, limited integration of environmental and lifecycle aspects, insufficient clarity for stakeholders, and slow and fragmented standardisation processes.

These findings have informed the ongoing CPR revision, which introduces a stronger focus on sustainability, circularity, and digitalisation, including improved integration of lifecycle information and extension to used and remanufactured products. A central element is the CPR Acquis process (EU Commission, Construction Products Regulation acquis, 2019) which structures the development and updating of harmonised technical specifications through coordinated interaction between the Commission, Member States, and stakeholders.

Within this framework, the CPR Working Plan 2026–2029 (EU Commission, CPR Working Plan, 2026) defines priorities and a roadmap for developing harmonised specifications. Key priorities include environmental performance indicators, lifecycle data frameworks, and digital infrastructures, most notably the Digital Product Passport (DPP), to enable traceability and structured data exchange across the product lifecycle (EU Commission, EU’s Digital Product Passport: Advancing transparency and sustainability, 2024). These developments are closely linked to emerging material and building passport concepts supporting the EU’s circular transition.

Performance declaration and standards

Under the CPR framework, the properties of construction products are documented on the Declaration of Performance (DoP) and CE marking, based on harmonised standards or EU Technical Assessments. This ensures consistent assessment and communication of essential characteristics across the EU.

However, existing harmonised standards are primarily designed for factory-produced, new products, with limited applicability to reused components. Key challenges include (Policies Enabling the Reuse of Construction Products in the Nordics, 2023): lack of original product documentation, changes in material properties over time, incompatibility with factory production control requirements, and absence of reliable methods for assessing residual performance.

For structural applications, the Eurocodes provide the fundamental framework for the safety and structural performance verification. The second generation includes significant advances, notably EN 1990-2 for assessment of existing structures and updates to standards such as the EN 1992-series. However, no Eurocode framework yet exists for reclaimed structural components, creating a critical methodological gap. This is further emphasised by recent CEN developments in other materials: while TC 350, TC 135, and TC 250 are actively advancing methodologies and design approaches for reuse of structural steel (Advance, Circular Economy of Steel-Based Building Components, 2024), no equivalent standardisation efforts currently exist for concrete components. In addition, many concrete structures targeted for reuse were produced prior to the Eurocode system, meaning that their original design and documentation may not align with current verification frameworks, further complicating their assessment.

In parallel, product standards such as EN 1168 (hollow-core slabs) and EN 13225 (linear structural elements) define requirements for precast concrete products, while production and material standards (e.g. EN 13369 / EN 206) govern general requirements for precast concrete elements and material properties. Environmental performance is addressed through EN-based LCA standards and Environmental Product Declarations (e.g. EN 15804). Nevertheless, these standards are not yet fully adapted to reuse scenarios, and no harmonised methods exist yet for integrating inspection and testing data into product-level declarations.

Overall, the regulatory landscape is undergoing a transition towards enabling circular construction, but critical gaps remain: absence of harmonised methods for performance and conformity assessment of reused structural elements, lack of integration between structural assessment methods and CPR-based product declaration, uncertainty of how national differences in construction products manufactured before EU regulations affects the possibility of common EU requirements for reuse, insufficient guidance on data structures and digital integration (e.g. DPP), and limited standardisation tailored to reuse scenarios. These gaps are particularly relevant for structural concrete elements, given their importance for safety, environmental impact, and market relevance. Addressing these challenges requires the development of scientifically grounded, standardisable and practically applicable methods, aligned with CPR, Eurocodes, and emerging digital frameworks.