Circular economy in construction industry – integrating demolition and construction

The value streams and productization theme of the University of Oulu InStreams Hub focuses on developing sustainable value chains, business models and business ecosystems, as well as responsible business practices and productization and commercialization of novel technological solutions.

The construction sector is one of the largest producers of waste and CO2 emissions globally. As an EU member, Finland was committed to utilizing 70% of construction and demolition waste by 2020. Unfortunately, the current utilization rate in Finland is still less than 60%. A total of 85% of construction and demolition waste comes from repair projects and the demolition of buildings, while the remaining 15% of waste is generated from new construction.

In urban environment, construction typically begins with a demolition project to get rid of old buildings. Simultaneously, at the construction site there is demand for rock materials to build new infrastructure, such as streets, light traffic lanes, parking lots, and noise barriers. Currently, the demolition waste is not processed and utilized on site. Instead, it is transported, processed, and transported back to the site or to another location. This extra transportation causes unnecessary costs and CO2 emissions due to the use of heavy trucks which also cause traffic jams and wear and tear of streets.

These problems are addressed in a collaboration that researchers from the University of Oulu’s Faculty of Technology (Civil Engineering, Fibre and Particle Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Management) and Oulu Business School have established with Oulu University of Applied Sciences and companies. The aim is to create new processes and value chains that integrate demolition and construction to enable sustainability and circularity transition in the construction industry. The problem is approached from multiple angles including technical, environmental, business, and social aspects.

This multi-disciplinary collaboration aims to study and develop new methods, processes, and ways of working that will also be tested in practice. These innovative practices can enable processing demolition materials on-site or nearby, which advances circularity and eliminates the need for extra transportation. In order to achieve these goals, the researchers from different fields will conduct value chain and life cycle analyses of selected demolition and construction projects, develop circular project practices for integrating demolition and construction, as well as conduct laboratory tests for demolition materials to ensure their recyclability, quality, and safety. The research team will also execute and analyze several demolition pilots, and study how to support the circularity and sustainability transition in the construction industry.

This new initiative provides a practical example of multi-disciplinary research conducted at the University of Oulu InStreams hub to advance circular economy. In addition to technical and engineering research, environment, social and business aspects are vital to consider. The sustainability challenge in construction industry is difficult and complex to solve, but in case of success we have an excellent opportunity to make built environment and construction in general more sustainable and circular industry in the future.