Under construction: Circularity in the built environment

An NTNU Sustainability & FME Zero Emission Neighborhoods Event on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency

The built environment shapes our daily lives, providing spaces for us to live, work, relax and travel in. The construction sector is a major consumer of resources, using a diversity of materials, and it is associated with a large share of greenhouse gas emissions. Construction and demolition waste are one of the largest global waste flows, with most of the waste typically being landfilled, or in some cases incinerated. There is a need to find new solutions to close resource loops and increase circularity in the built environment.

In the built environment many material and product value chains come together. From the structural materials (wood, cement, metal, glass) via the HVAC and IT/electronic infrastructure (copper, precious metals, …) to the furniture and lamps (metal, wood, textiles, plastic) – pretty much every thinkable material and product is present in a building. Each of those has its own lifetime as well. The building itself will be there for decades, the infrastructure and interior will have changed a few times. 

During this event we will take a broad, multi-disciplinary perspective and explore how the circular economy can be deployed to effect change in the day-to-day practice. 

• How do demographics and lifestyle impact the use of buildings?
• How can use intensity, lifetime, remanufacturing, recovery and recycling be enhanced?
• Can we transition the built environment and stay within today’s planetary boundaries?
• What are the short- and long-term impacts of the renovate Europe programme?
• Can circularity be improved by interaction with other sectors (waste, renewable energy, Internet of Things)?
• How can standardization support?

Scientific and breakout sessions

In these 1-h sessions a specific topic will be addressed in the form of presentations, workshops or hackathons.
If you would like to organize a session, please reach out to the organisers. 

Networking & billboard session

Networking and billboard sessions take place during the event. Between the sessions there is plenty of time to catch up, meet new people and check out the billboards. This is not your usual poster session. We will be using the #thebetterposter approach to start conversations and get a quick overview of what is going on.

Date: 27-28 of November

Location: Trondheim / online

The programme 

DAY 1

• 11:00 Registration, networking, and opening of the billboard session
• 11:45 Opening comments
• 12:00 Invited speakers:
  • Associate Professor Niki Gaitani (NTNU) – Climate positive and circular communities
  • Anne Sigrid Nordby (Gjenbrukbar AS) – Hands-on experiences from circular buildings
  • Jill Saunders (Asplan Viak) – Circularity and resource efficiency in the building sector – a consultant’s perspective

• 13:00 Lunch and networking
• 14:30 Panel discussion and open Q&A. Panel Coordinator: Professor Rolf Bohne , director of Green2050
• 16:00 Closing of day 1.
• 16:00 Visit to Gjenbrukslageret (Trondheim Municipality)
• 19:00 Dinner

DAY 2

• 8:00 Morning coffee and networking.
• 8:30 Invited speakers:
  • Thea Mork Kimmen (Bærum Municipality) – Municipalities role in promoting circularity in the built environment
  • Arnkell Petersen (NMBU) & Anders Liaøy (Multiconsult) – Circularity and VVS
  • Lars Myhre (Housing Producers’ Association) – Perspectives on circularity and standardization
• 9:30 Scientific and breakout sessions I
• 10:30 Coffee and networking
• 11:00 Scientific and breakout sessions II
• 12:00 Closing and end of billboard session

More information and registration are available here.