Circular construction
Circular construction is about using materials and resources as efficiently as possible in the built environment. The aim is to keep materials in use for longer and reduce waste.
The Dutch Environmental Database supports these decisions by making environmental data of construction products available. This data can be used to calculate the environmental impact of different choices in an environmental performance calculation.
Circular construction focuses on reducing the use of raw materials and extending the lifespan of materials. In the Netherlands, the environmental impact of materials is assessed through an environmental performance calculation based on a life cycle assessment.
Circular strategies, such as reuse and lifespan extension, can contribute to a lower environmental impact. This is not self-evident, however, and depends on the full life cycle of the materials involved.
Relationship with environmental performance
Circular construction and environmental performance are closely related, but they are not the same.
The environmental performance calculation provides insight into the environmental impacts of materials across the full life cycle of a construction work. Circularity is not a separate indicator within this calculation, but a design and use strategy that can contribute to a lower environmental impact. Circular choices therefore become visible in the environmental performance when they actually lead to lower environmental impacts, for example through the reduction of primary material use, lifespan extension or high-quality reuse.
In een circulaire bouweconomie worden materialen en producten hergebruikt, opnieuw toegepast of gerecycled om verspilling en milieuschade te beperken. De NMD biedt data en hulpmiddelen om de circulariteit van bouwprojecten te beoordelen en ondersteunt professionals bij duurzame ontwerp- en materiaalkeuzes. Lees verder over circulaire strategieën, scenario’s, subsidies en hoe de NMD hierop aansluit.
What is circular construction?
Circular construction is an approach to designing, building and demolishing that focuses on closing material loops, keeping materials in use for as long as possible and reapplying them in new construction applications. It is not only about making more sustainable material choices, but also about how a building is designed, used and dismantled. This includes reusing existing materials, extending the lifespan of products and designing buildings that can be adapted or disassembled at a later stage. All parties in the construction process share a responsibility and a role in this, from the designer to the demolition contractor, everyone who makes decisions that affect material use.
When does circular construction contribute to a lower environmental impact?
A circular measure often leads to a lower environmental impact, but this is not always the case. Additional processing, transport, storage or supplementary material use can partly offset the environmental gains of reuse, disassembly or modularity. At the same time, circular measures can contribute to a lower environmental impact, for example through lifespan extension, high-quality reuse or the reduction of primary raw materials. The environmental performance calculation (such as the MKI/MPG based on the Assessment Method for Environmental Performance of Construction Works) helps to determine whether a circular measure actually leads to a lower environmental impact across the full life cycle in practice. This makes environmental performance an important tool for assessing and substantiating circular choices.
The role of the Dutch Environmental Database
The Dutch Environmental Database (NMD) manages the environmental data and the assessment method used to calculate the environmental performance of construction works. In doing so, the NMD supports the transparent assessment of the environmental impact of material use and design choices across the full life cycle of a building or infrastructure work. Within circular construction, this plays an important role. Circular strategies, such as reuse, lifespan extension, designing for disassembly or the use of biobased materials, do not automatically result in a lower environmental impact. The environmental performance calculation helps to make these effects transparent and objective. The NMD therefore does not determine what is 'circular', but provides the uniform data and methodology to incorporate the environmental impact of circular choices in a substantiated way into design, policy and procurement processes.
Life cycle of materials
An environmental performance calculation considers the full life cycle of materials:
- Production of raw materials and construction products
- Transport and construction process
- Maintenance and replacement during use
- Demolition and processing at the end of the lifespan
- Possibilities for reuse or recycling
By considering this full life cycle, it becomes clear how choices contribute to the total environmental impact of a construction work.
Environmental Investment Allowance MIA
Learn how a category 1 environmental declaration in the Dutch Environmental Database can contribute to MIA tax benefits.
Reuse and disassembly in the Assessment Method
Find out how reuse and disassembly are incorporated in the Assessment Method.
Design choices and interpretation in environmental performance calculations
Learn how design choices influence the outcome of an environmental performance calculation and how results are interpreted correctly.
Frequently asked questions about circular construction
Find answers to frequently asked questions about circular construction, reuse, disassembly and the application of environmental data.
Veelgestelde vragen Circulair bouwen
Circulair bouwen is een vorm van duurzaam bouwen. Een gebouw is circulair als bij de bouw en het beheer de voorraden in een gesloten kringloop worden gehouden, zonder schadelijke emissies naar lucht, water en bodem. Bouwmaterialen zijn circulair als ze gemaakt zijn van gerecyclede grondstoffen, herbruikbare onderdelen of het product zelf recyclebaar is.
De MKI/MPG als waarde van de milieuprestatie van bouwwerken geeft op zich geen indicatie over hoe circulair een product is. De MKI/MPG-waarde is een 1-puntscore van de milieuprestatie van een gebouw of GWW-werk. Deze wordt bepaald aan de hand van de Bepalingsmethode Milieuprestatie Bouwwerken. Deze waarde geeft dus alleen een indicatie van het effect van de circulaire strategie op de milieuprestatie. De NMD onderzoekt of het mogelijk is om aan de hand van een LCA-rapport ook circulariteit getalsmatig naast de MKI/MPG-waarde te kunnen uitdrukken.
De NMD neemt in LCA‑rapporten ook onderliggende parameters op, zoals materiaalstromen in kg (input, secundaire output, recycling, hergebruik), verbruik van hernieuwbare energie en waterverbruik in de keten.
NMD volgt nieuwe ontwikkelingen nauwlettend en is aangehaakt bij verschillende onderzoeken in de richting van circulaire economie en circulair bouwen.
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