The construction sector consumes a significant amount of resources and in year 2022, 45 pct of the waste generated in the EU member states came from construction waste (EUROSTAT, 2025). While reuse is not always an option, there is still a gap to enable more reuse of construction materials and support circularity.
The first phase of Nordic Sustainable Construction (2021‑2024) focused on Nordic cooperation on the reuse of construction products and resulted in the report “Policies Enabling the Reuse of Construction Products in the Nordics”. A key finding from that work and a sector workshop was the need to reduce uncertainty and associated costs caused by the lack of reliable, consistent documentation of material properties, such as structural performance, durability, safety and the possible presence of hazardous substances. This lack of clarity on the essential characteristics of used products and how they should be documented was identified as a major barrier, leading to recommendations for a harmonised Nordic approach to assess, document and declare used construction products in line with the EU Construction Product Regulation (CPR).
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 group(s) (most be identified by the tenderer) based on existing methods for assessment.
There is a need for a coordinated and practical Nordic approach to identifying relevant Construction Product Regulation characteristics, assessing how they can be documented using existing methods, and clarifying how reused construction products can be declared in practice.
A Nordic collaboration provides a strong foundation for addressing these challenges, not limited to knowledge and methods within the Nordics countries. By aligning interpretations, building on existing projects, sharing best practices and contributing to the ongoing CPR Acquis and future standardisation work.
Based on those recommendations, a second phase of the Nordic Sustainble Construction programme was launched in June 2025 and will run until the end of 2027. The programme is administered by a Nordic Secretariat and comprises three subject‑matter work packages: Climate, Circularity and EU. The Circularity Work Package led by the Danish Authority of Social Services and Housing, which also serves as the Nordic Secretariat, now issues a call for tenders to develop practical, CPR‑compatible guidelines for assessment of used construction‑product groups.
Call for submission of tenders is now published
Purpose of the project
The project aims to create a coordinated Nordic approach that:
- identifies the essential CPR characteristics that must be assessed for selected construction‑product groups,
- maps existing assessment, testing and documentation methods that can be applied to those characteristics and
- produces practical, CPR‑compatible guidelines for documenting and declaring the essential characteristics of reused products, including digital data structures that fit the upcoming EU Digital Product Passport.
No new test methods will be developed; instead, existing methods will be selected, combined and where necessary adapted to deliver potential solutions.
Scope and expected outcomes
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 contractor will work through six inter‑linked subtasks, each validated by a Nordic reference group and presented to Nordic construction authorities. The tasks are:
- Establishing the reference group
- Identifying CPR performance characteristics for the chosen product groups
- Prioritising those characteristics that can realistically be documented
- Mapping and evaluating existing methods and standards
- Developing practical documentation and declaration guidelines (including a digital‑product‑passport format)
- Finally synthesising and disseminating the results through reports, summary briefs and communication material.
Tender documents and deadline
All detailed conditions are set out in the Announcement Materials, find them in the link below. Submissions are to be made to the Danish Authority of Social Services and Housing by Friday the 12th of June 2026, 12:00 CEST.
We look forward to receiving proposals that will advance a coordinated, climate‑optimised reuse of construction products across the Nordics.
Tender announcement and material