Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2022-551/ Low-carbon and circular public procurement aims at reducing climate emissions, promoting value retention, closed material loops and savings in resource use. In the construction and renovation of buildings, attention is paid to the planning phase as well as minimizing material and demolition waste and recycling waste appropriately. In the construction of road infrastructure, significant savings in material and money could be achieved by utilizing secondary materials from the site or nearby.This study examined and illustrated the approaches of low-carbon and circular construction and their synergies and trade-offs. Emissions and potential emission savings were calculated in three case studies representing different aspects of circular construction.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2022-544/ Public procurement is increasingly being used to implement political goals, often related to sustainability. A prioritised goal at present is reducing the climate emissions caused by our consumption of goods and services. For contracting authorities (CA), taking climate aspects into account when procuring requires effort and can increase costs. They need data to be able to select which procurements, products and suppliers can give most climate effect. At present relevant, comparable climate data is not readily available. This report analyses the needs for CAs and the current status in the Nordic countries as a basis for planning actions to better the availability of product-related climate data.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/nord2023-031/ Nordic Network for circular construction. Report from work package 2 about barriers and possibilites within circular construction, A state of the art report from the five Nordic countries, The situation in the countries during 2018-2022.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2021-508/ The national strategies for a circular economy set the overall targets for implementation of circular economy in the country. Putting theory into practice via local strategies can be a good means for the transition towards a circular economy in the construction sector. Municipalities can set demands for CE solutions by requiring, e.g. the use of recycled and/or recyclable construction materials, the application of design for disassembly principles in construction and requiring resource mapping, and reuse and recycling in the demolition phase. The study identifies and presents cases and experiences from the implementation of CE concepts at the local level in the Nordic communities with a focus on construction, renovation and demolition. Barriers and drivers for the uptake of CE solutions are analysed, and enabling factors that could support the implementation of circular economy concepts and identified barriers in norms, legislation and guidelines are described. As part of the project, the project group gave 10 policy recommendations.

First Published in 2004. This volume presents the proceedings of the seventh Conference on the Durability of Building Materials and Components, held in May 1996. Emphasis is given to service life data and in-service performance, and the text reflects current research activity in these areas.

Rapporten præsenterer et studie af brugen af frivillige aftaler og forekomsten af miljømærker i de nordiske lande, inklusiv brugen af instrumenterne i et policy mix med andre policy værktøjer. Grundlaget for rapporten er fem landestudier, der hver især kortlægger brugen af de nævnte policy værktøjer i de fem nordiske lande og præsenterer identificerede evalueringer af konkrete frivillige aftaler og miljømærkeordninger. Fra evalueringerne uddrages konklusioner om omkostningseffektivitet samt gode og dårlige eksempler på anvendelse af frivillige aftaler og miljømærkeordninger i kombination med andre styringsmidler. Det primære formål er at udvikle anbefalinger, der kan understøtte og give input til justeringer af strategier for den fremtidige anvendelse af frivillige aftaler og miljømærker i de nordiske landes miljøregulering. Rapporten er udført af Plan Miljø og finansieret af Nordisk Ministerråd.