Asker is at the forefront of many areas of the circular economy (CE) and is adopting sustainable principles both politically and operationally. In the municipality, there are between 10–20 staff currently working on CE initiatives. Within this CCRI-application scope, we have approximately five staff working on waste reduction, emission reduction, and reuse/circularity in the area of construction and buildings.

Urban rural predominance

Intermediate

‘Circular Building & Construction Transformation: Reusing Furniture, Streamlining Materials, and Efficient Storage Solutions’

Asker’s aim is to establish a comprehensive system to enhance circularity in building and construction (B&C) materials. The pilot focuses on municipal B&C projects, championing creative internal solutions and forging collaborations with key stakeholders.

The project will encompass the following key categories:

• Loose inventory/furniture and fixtures: Pioneering procurement for a digital system that enables furniture to be reused, aiming to make reused furniture and inventory easy and accessible for all municipality employees. This system also enables sales and giveaways outside the municipality through an open marketplace.
• Construction materials: Cooperating and testing solutions with external partners that offer established systems; drawing insights from the Nedre Sem Låve project for definition of standardised categories, certificates and data collection.
• Outdoor materials: Defining long- and short-term strategies and needs for storage areas, personnel and systems within the municipality. This includes considerations like land allocation for physical storage and the zoning process.
• (Excavation) masses: Teaming up with external partners who have mastered systems for dealing with these masses.

Objectives

Asker’s circular systemic solution aims to develop a holistic system for a more circular B&C sector. The general objective is to define a strategy, implement and start testing specific solutions for B&C materials, enabling functional market systems for each of the categories defined below. The circular systemic solution will target all key materials relevant for reuse in the municipality’s building and construction projects.

The circular systemic solution will address the following material categories:

• loose inventory/furniture, items such as chairs, tables, and shelves;
• fixtures, including kitchen interior, doors, electrical installations, among others;
• construction materials, such as wood, brick, and concrete;
• outdoor materials, including benches, bicycle racks, pipes, concrete manholes, paving stones, and more;
• mass handling, managing the reuse of bulk materials.

Asker will address some categories internally and cooperate with external stakeholders where appropriate. The circular solution may include temporary or short-term solutions for some categories, the CSS may include a temporary or a short-term solution, while developing permanent, long-term strategies for others.

For each category, the municipality will:

• define the starting point, goals, and strategies;
• engage in zoning processes for a permanent, long-term solution at Yggeset (a recycling station), including business model as well as resource planning;
• identify temporary areas for storage;
• collaborate with external actors offering already established systems (storage area, market systems);
• integrate reuse assessments to the municipality’s project portfolio;
• test and evaluate metrics to measure reuse success (reuse percentage, costs, environmental impact);
• share experiences and test results for reuse materials in relevant networks.

Systemic nature

Asker’s circular systemic solution is designed to create a comprehensive approach to circularity in the building and construction sector, bringing together key sectors and stakeholders. Municipal departments such as Property Management, Parks and Recreation, and Public Procurement play a crucial role in integrating material reuse into everyday operations, ensuring that materials unsuitable for new constructions are repurposed for maintenance and repair. Neighbouring municipalities are vital partners for sharing knowledge and exploring shared systems, expanding the impact beyond Asker.

FutureBuilt, Norway’s leading programme on circularity, contributes expertise, tools, and methodologies for measuring circularity, while contractors like Veidekke provide practical insights from on-the-ground projects, such as Asker’s first circular building project. The pilot focuses on material reuse and has established a reuse centre, a storage facility and an online marketplace. However, material reuse also requires the implementation of supporting procurement and material classification criteria to ensure materials are suitable and of sufficient quality for reuse. The systemic nature of the solution lies in its ability to connect stakeholders, facilitate resource-sharing, and develop a comprehensive business plan that leverages their expertise to bring this circular initiative to life.

Expected impact

The expected impact includes a reduction in CO2 emissions due to the decreased consumption of new materials, reduced transportation, and internal and local reuse of materials. Additionally, there will be a reduction in waste generated from building and construction projects. This approach also has the potential to generate economic savings and create social jobs within the municipality.

Link to existing circular economy strategy and/or action plan

Circular economy considerations are embedded in the Climate Change Action Plan for Asker Kommune (Temaplan Handling mot Klimaendringene).

The key focus areas of the Action Plan are:

1. Transition, change management and communication
2. Climate-smart foods
3. Sustainable consumption
4. Future-oriented buildings and facilities
5. Green mobility
6. Nature as a carbon store/Nature-based solutions

The transition to a CE is crucial to reaching the low-emission society. However, the transition to a low-emission society requires a shift from a linear economy to a CE. Therefore, Circular solutions are embedded in all six focus areas of the Action Plan. CE means that there will be a more efficient use of resources within the municipality, which will contribute to new green jobs and business models. This is a good economic model for the municipality, its citizens, and businesses – and is absolutely necessary to avoid a lack of resources in the future.

Responsible consumption (SDG 12) is also a politically decided focus area for Askers sustainable development programme. The plan points the direction for the next 12 years.

The plan is cross-sectoral and applies to 100 % of municipal divisions and services, as well as for municipal initiatives and interactions with Asker’s business community and citizens in a long-term commitment to 2033.

Leading organisation

City of Asker (Asker municipality)

Unit/department/section

• Department of development and construction
• Department of Strategy and Research
• Department of Environment and Transportation

Participation in other relevant initiatives

• Covenant of Mayors
• CARE
• TransScale (financed by DUT: Driving Urban Transitions to a sustainable future - DUT Partnership)