Throughout its complete lifecycle, the building sector, which represents a key component of the construction industry, is responsible for half of the extracted materials, half of the total energy consumption, one-third of water consumption, and one-third of waste generation. Past efforts targeting construction materials have not aligned parallel demand- and supply-side actions, often neglecting the role of circularity in holistic decarbonisation approaches. Strategies and plans point to various tools and policy instruments for effective decarbonisation but there is no comprehensive strategy that could tackle both the demand and supply side, focusing on CE and climate and energy policies at the EU and national levels. Moreover, existing deecarbonisation strategies, National Climate and Energy Strategies, and CE transition roadmaps often overlook sector-specific needs.

DECON project aims to address this gap between CE and strategies related to decarbonisation aspects and sector-specific needs by assessing the disparity between climate and circular economy policies, identifying challenges, barriers, and both good and bad practices at the national level within the building and construction materials sector. The project involves assessing the different levels of implementation of selected CE and climate strategies along the entire value chain, providing insights into the various practices and approaches. Its main impact lies in bridging the gap between linear and circular economy practices
while effectively aligning energy and climate policies to significantly influence the achievement of net-zero emission targets in the building and construction materials sector of Poland, Ukraine, and Denmark.

This project is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers.