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.
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.
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.
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.
More about circular construction
Environmental Investment Allowance MIA\Vamill
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.
Frequently asked questions - Circulair construction
Circular construction is a form of sustainable construction. A building is circular if during construction and management the supplies are kept in a closed loop, without harmful emissions to air, water and soil. (GPR software) Building materials are circular if they are made from recycled raw materials, reusable parts or the product itself is recyclable).
Besides data on the environmental impact of construction products (environmental performance), from 1 January 2021 the NMD will also include data on the underlying parameters from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) report, such as material flows in kg (including secondary material input and output, material for recycling, material for reuse), the amount of renewable energy used and water consumption in the chain.
NMD is also informed of the latest developments in this area and we are involved in various research studies.
The Environmental Performance of Buildingsas value of the environmental performance of buildings does not, in itself, give any indication of a product’s circularity. The EPB value is a 1-point score of a building/structure’s environmental performance, assessed in line with the Environmental Performance Assessment Method for Construction Works. This value therefore provides an indication of the effect of the circular strategy on environmental performance. Stichting NMD is currently conducting research into indicators of circularity so that it can express circularity numerically using an LCA report in addition to the Environmental Performance of Buildings value.
Read more
