Introducing circular economy models in the construction sector, from buildings to city scale

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Measurable increase in the number of tools and solutions at district or city level that are supporting the application of circular economy models by public and private stakeholders active in the construction sector;
• Measurable reduction of material use and an increase of reuse and recycling in the construction sector as a result of the introduction of new and replicable business models;
• Measurable reduction in the energy and other resources use and the whole life-cycle GHG emissions of buildings^[1] and building stock (residential and non-residential) by introducing circular economy activities at building, district and city level.

Scope:

Applying circularity principles in the construction sector at building, district and city level can reduce the whole life-cycle GHG emissions and support more efficient resource use of the building stock, and help deliver climate-neutral, smart and circular cities, and a more sustainable built environment. To achieve this, there is a need for tools, solutions and associated business models with market potential that facilitate the adoption of inclusive circular construction economy models, as well as a more efficient use of buildings, ultimately reducing the need to extract raw materials.

Proposals are expected to address all of the following:

• Develop and demonstrate tools and solutions at district or city level to support the introduction of circularity principles in the construction sector, and quantify their impacts (for example: urban mining; reuse and recycling of construction products and materials and other resources, use of secondary biobased materials; building’s innovative, accessible and adaptive design, renovation, and repurposing of buildings in line with waste prevention and circular economy principles).
• Develop and demonstrate solutions for the diagnosis and performance characterisation of used construction products and demolition waste, in terms of their condition and potential reuse, and to create inventories of reclaimed products and materials, as well as appropriate business models including marketplace tools with components and material banks.
• Develop and demonstrate whole life-cycle GHG emissions inventories of buildings to support decision-making and public actions in line with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) recast.
• Contribute to reducing regulatory barriers and developing standards, where relevant.
• Ensure the integration of different value chains, active involvement of all relevant construction sector stakeholders, policy-makers and the people impacted by the solutions developed, including SMEs, building owners, local authorities and civil society.
• Demonstrate the proposed tools and solutions in at least three cities, each from a different Member State or Associated Country, including with a view to showcase potential for large scale cross-border re-use of construction materials and products. The cities must participate as beneficiaries. At least one of the three cities must be one of the 112 cities participating in the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities.

Given its focus on circularity, this topic contributes to the implementation of the Cities Mission, the New European Bauhaus (NEB), the European Partnership on ‘People-centric Sustainable Built Environment’ (B4P), and the EU Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI).

Projects are encouraged to engage in clustering activities with other relevant Horizon Europe projects that share a common theme and address similar issues, and/or are connected to the aforementioned initiatives. This approach aims to promote synergies and complementarities. To this end, proposals should include a dedicated task, allocate appropriate resources, and develop a plan for collaboration with relevant projects, partners, and initiatives. Moreover, proposals are expected to ensure that their dissemination and exploitation strategies feature dedicated (and possibly joint) actions for promoting their results and lessons learned on relevant platforms, such as the Cities Mission Platform, the NEB hub for results and impact, B4P^[2] and CCRI^[3] websites, and through related channels. Such activities will facilitate knowledge exchange, encourage the replication and uptake of solutions, and maximise impact.

This action supports the follow-up to the July 2023 Communication on EU Missions assessment^[4].

[1] See Article 2(24) of Directive (EU) 2024/1275

[2] https://built4people.eu/b4pic_network/

[3] https://circular-cities-and-regions.ec.europa.eu/ccri-projects

[4] COM(2023) 457 final and SWD(2023) 260 final