Response to interpellation 2024/25:361 on the mandate for a circular construction sector

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! Katarina Luhr has asked me how I and the government believe that Boverket's extensive work and the work to initiate a significant circular economy within the construction sector should be taken forward.

I would like to emphasize initially that the government sees circular economy as an important tool to reduce emissions. The government views Boverket's latest report on environmental indicators positively, which shows that greenhouse gas emissions from the construction sector in the period 2008-2022 have decreased in parallel with increased employment. A circular economy can contribute to the downward trend and increase both resource efficiency, self-sufficiency, and Swedish competitiveness while simultaneously reducing the emissions of pollutants and chemicals.

The government is working to achieve regulations that provide fair conditions for the circular economy. The policy shall stimulate and create the right conditions for the transition. Measures that promote clean waste streams and strengthen the market for recycled, reused, and fossil-free material must be put in place.

Boverket reported in December 2024 the assignment to develop the work on the transition to a circular economy in the construction sector, and the report is currently being prepared within the Government Offices.

The concept of circular economy contains many different dimensions, and the government has taken several initiatives to strengthen its impact within the construction and real estate industries.

A priority for the government, which is also emphasized in the climate action plan, is to better utilize the existing stock, something that would have extensive climate and resource benefits. In the wake of the pandemic, the proportion of vacant premises has increased. The government therefore introduced a planning stimulus in 2024 to encourage municipalities to adopt detailed plans that enable more housing through conversion from premises to housing. In addition, Boverket has been tasked with proposing relaxations in the building requirements for modification and renovation.

Furthermore, I want to highlight the issue surrounding construction defects, which are estimated to involve property economic costs of 80-110 billion SEK per year. This implies both a great waste of construction materials and increased construction costs. Fewer construction defects lead to better resource efficiency and thus a strengthened circular economy in the construction industry. Boverket has therefore been allocated 10 million SEK per year in the 2025 budget during the period 2025-2030 to systematically work on countering construction defects.

In conclusion, I want to emphasize that an increased circular economy in the construction sector is of great importance for achieving a more sustainable and competitive sector. The Government and I will also continue to monitor the development and analyze the need for further measures.

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Katarina Luhr (MP)

Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.

I am pleased when the Minister, in his response, expresses interest in circular economy and more specifically circular construction. I also appreciate the Minister's intention to utilize the existing property stock in a more efficient way through, among other things, the conversion of office premises into housing. Counteracting construction errors should, of course, already be a matter of course.

As we discussed in the previous debate, one-fifth of Sweden's total climate emissions come from the construction and real estate sector, but we never had time to talk about the gigantic amounts of waste that the construction sector also generates and how many resources go to waste when one demolishes or renovates. The construction industry in Sweden generates approximately 10 million tons of waste per year, which is twice as much as our collective household waste and most of all industries except the mining sector.

When the City of Stockholm investigated how much waste was produced in different housing projects, it was seen that up to 85 kilograms of waste were discarded per square meter. The differences were, however, very large, which shows that it is not impossible to reduce waste amounts during new construction.

Setting clear limits for permitted emissions and how much waste can be produced during new construction can make an enormous difference. According to a report from Chalmers, increased resource efficiency and circularity within the construction sector can reduce emissions by between 25 and 30 percent by 2030. If the government takes these issues seriously, we can influence both climate emissions and the use of resources in a strongly positive direction, both regarding the environment and the climate.

In a circular construction, cultural-historical values can also be preserved, for example, when reusing doors, windows and other building parts that are clearly visible in the cultural environment.

As we have discussed previously, the work on circularity in the construction sector needs to be carried out now, not later. For the Minister to say in his response that he intends to follow the developments moving forward is not sufficient. The Minister mentions that climate emissions in the construction sector decreased between 2008 and 2022, but unfortunately, this trend has been broken since the government took over. In 2024, as stated, climate emissions from the construction sector increased by an average of 31 percent. A major reason why we see increased emissions is that the sector has switched from renewable to fossil fuels, but the lack of goals and direction from the government's side naturally contributes to the trend being broken.

Boverket received a mandate in the spring of 2022 to develop the work on the transition to a circular economy in the construction sector. This is a mandate that the government has taken forward and which was reported shortly before Christmas. Despite the mandate's importance, very little has been heard from the government regarding this, and Boverket has received neither any follow-up mandate to continue working with the project nor any extra money to disseminate the developed guidance for circular construction, which is available on Boverket's website.

But perhaps the answer from the Minister can offer some hope. When the Minister says that the policy should stimulate and create the right conditions for the transition, and that measures that promote clean waste streams and strengthen the market for recycled, reused, and fossil-free material must be put in place, it certainly catches my attention. I would therefore like to know how the Minister views Boverket's report and if there are specific parts in the report that the Minister and the Government will continue to work on in the analysis that the Minister and the Government, according to the answer, will also continue to conduct.

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Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! Katarina Luhr is absolutely right that in my response I said that we will follow the developments. In the same sentence I also said that we will analyze the need for further measures.

The report that Boverket presented to me in December 2024 regarding specifically circular economy was sent out for consultation yesterday, and this is news I am pleased to be able to give here in the chamber today. This means that we are awaiting comments on Boverket's proposal, and I expect strong engagement from many different stakeholders and that, based on that, we can receive guidance on what is the highest priority to achieve increased resource efficiency and increased circular construction.

In the report, Boverket states that there are deficiencies in statistics and monitoring regarding the material recycling of construction materials, to take one example from Boverket's rather extensive report. They also describe that when it comes to reuse, the gaps are even larger regarding statistics and monitoring. The EU's requirement that the amount of reused and recycled construction material must be reportable will likely lead to new methods for data collection that can improve the basis, and Boverket presents proposals for digitalization in the report that could contribute to this.

I will not anticipate the referral process today, and we will, of course, await comments on this proposal as well.

But to answer the question in a concrete way, this is one of the interesting parts because within the Swedish environmental goal system, we have milestone goals for construction and demolition waste where it is stated that preparatory measures for reuse, material recycling, and other recycling of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste shall amount to at least 70 weight percent annually until 2025. This goal is monitored by Naturvårdsverket, and it therefore becomes particularly interesting and important to follow up on just Boverket's observations of the deficiencies in monitoring and statistics linked to just material recycling and construction materials.

Madam Speaker! I can also say that Boverket, in the regulatory letter for 2024, was tasked with analyzing what obstacles may exist for increased use of sustainable and innovative construction solutions within residential construction, for example, industrial timber construction. Boverket has responded and does not point to any specific obstacles to building with bio-based materials but highlights that the problem primarily lies in detailed development plans. It concerns, above all, the regulation of the height of structures and to some extent also the degree of utilization. There are therefore parts to follow up in the detailed development plans.

I want to conclude by underlining the government's very clear focus on a significantly better utilization of the existing stock and repeat that Boverket has been tasked to propose relaxations in building requirements during alteration and renovation.

Many times today, requirements for new production are essentially imposed during the conversion of an existing property. This can lead to the fact that one is faced with the situation that it becomes significantly easier and perhaps even cheaper to demolish and build new, instead of being able to receive concessions in the building requirements regarding both accessibility and light penetration in certain parts of the property, which may have been originally built for offices, not housing.

Regarding that type of relief, Boverket has been tasked with proposing how circular construction can be enabled and how the existing stock can be utilized significantly more efficiently than today.

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Katarina Luhr (MP)

Madam Speaker! I must say that I was surprised but also positively surprised that the Swedish National Board of Housing's report on circular construction did not end up on a dusty shelf but actually went out for consultation. I thought that was very nice.

The Minister emphasizes that increased circular economy in the construction sector is of great importance to achieve a more sustainable and competitive sector. The market has realized this, and is at the starting blocks to increase the work with circularity. It is also clear that the interest from the market has only grown in recent years when it comes to finding new ways to reuse both frames and facade materials, which can make a huge difference.

Many measures remain and are needed, and the minister has highlighted a number of measures. When speaking with the industry and the experts, most of them point out that the limit values for climate emissions during construction and renovation, which we have debated previously, could become strongly steering so that more reused building materials can circulate back to new use. This issue we have, as said, already debated, but it does not look like anything will be put in place for a while.

I would like to highlight some other measures that the Boverket investigation has come up with and which I find interesting.

Overall, the investigation highlights that there is currently a lack of concrete goals and a national strategy for the transition to a circular economy in the construction and real estate sector. The lack of a common focus and direction contributes to the fact that the pace of transition is currently low. This is something that, among others, Fastighetsägarna have raised previously.

Property owners believe that concrete goals and a strategy could lead to the possibility for small and medium-sized enterprises to keep up with the transition to a circular real estate sector. It is, of course, no great news that the business community desires a long-term and clear regulatory framework, but it is worth reminding if one wants to steer in a certain direction.

Other things that may need to be handled and adjusted and that are raised by Boverket are education, digitalization, producer responsibility for more products, public procurement, economic steering instruments, the functional value system, ROT, increased flexibility within building permits and so on. These are some of the measures that the minister has already mentioned.

I and Miljöpartiet have previously submitted motions regarding a number of measures that could steer towards increased circularity within the construction sector and have then often received the answer that they are awaiting Boverket's investigation.

In Byggmaterialindustriernas new report for increased circularity, there is a wish list for the politicians. They desire things such as better mapping and statistics, work with guidance and support from the authorities, increased clarity that circularity shall be promoted, and a wish for a circularity step, similar to Klimatklivet and Industriklivet, where support can be given for the development of circular processes.

My point is that there are strong demands from the business sector for the construction sector to become more circular. This is important to keep in mind in the continued work.

What I would like to ask Minister Andreas Carlson is: What does the minister see as a first step? Could it be that new goals for circularity are introduced and perhaps a national strategy is introduced? Could that be a good start?

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Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I believe the most important thing is to take steps based on what has the fastest effect and to the greatest extent possible, which favors the transition and strengthens the competitiveness of companies so that benefits are seen in it for several reasons, not least resource efficiency and reduced emissions.

It will be interesting to take part in the views on the report that has now been referred.

From the government's side, we see that circular economy is a crucial tool in the climate transition and that we can solve the transition through an economy that grows and is characterized by increased competitiveness, growth, strengthened preparedness and resilience, which is another important perspective to have with us in the issue of reducing emissions and increasing resource efficiency.

An ambitious, long-term and effective climate and environmental policy implies, as I have pointed out, Madam Speaker, great opportunities for the Swedish business sector to gain market shares and enter entirely new markets with its fossil-free and resource-efficient products, services and technical solutions.

The government has during this mandate period placed a greater emphasis on the business sector's role in the climate transition. A very concrete example is that the Delegation for Circular Economy now has new members and a chairperson who represents more companies and industries. This is an important part of the work to have accurate measures and to present the changes that have the best effect and reinforce the already very strong momentum that I encounter and that I know Katarina Luhr also encounters in the industry and the sectors involved.

There is a whole range of points in the report, which are very extensive, and the member raised some of them. It is important that it is clear and that there is a regulatory framework that facilitates and does not put spokes in the wheels of the transition and the strengthened competitiveness.

Just as Katarina Luhr referred to, it appeared from one of the referral responses that it is also necessary to have the perspective of small and medium-sized companies and not only look at the large Swedish companies. It must be possible, simple and clear also for small and medium-sized companies.

Madam Speaker! I did not intend to go into the individual parts of the report, in order not to anticipate the referral process, which I look forward to. I took part of the report that was presented in December and received a review from those who have worked on it at Boverket, and now I will obtain the views from the referral bodies.

I believe that this should be seen in the context of all the other parts we are doing to facilitate the use of existing stock more. To answer the member's question: Goals and national strategies of course have their place. I am not using this to talk it down or say that it is not important, but changing the requirements at conversion may have an even more concrete effect and can be an important part of a goal or a national strategy.

It is also important that different types of steering documents are as precise and accurate as possible. In that regard, the government has already chosen, in this situation, to proceed with a mandate to Boverket to propose relaxations in the building requirements, for example.

We stand ready to take further measures once we have analyzed the need based on the comments received that will come to us when the report has been out for consultation.

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Katarina Luhr (MP)

Madam Speaker! It is clear that the Minister and I are quite in agreement that there are many measures that need to be put in place to further pave the way for increased circular construction.

For everyone who has opened the box for circularity, it is clear that the entire circle in the circular economy needs to hang together. Just being able to match the material that can come from demolitions and renovations with the need for material in other construction projects is a challenge. Support is truly needed from all sides, including politics, to ensure that the circle can get rolling.

Then I thought I would bring up some additional reasons why the circular can be important moving forward, if one is not interested solely in environment and climate. We know that building materials have become expensive, not least in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. When it occurred, we also saw that deliveries to the construction sector became more unpredictable, which created problems and increased the costs of the processes.

One of the assignments that Boverket had was to map and analyze the availability of and demand for the building materials that are considered critical for the material supply in the construction sector.

We know that we have vulnerable supply chains not only because of limitations in raw materials but also because, for example, extraction, enrichment, and manufacturing can be concentrated in a few countries, which makes us in Sweden very vulnerable.

I want to conclude by underlining the importance of this for both the environment and the climate, but actually also for our security and for the construction industry to gain greater predictability. We need clear goals, a national strategy to get the work started, and support for the companies to know which direction we should steer towards, because we have everything to gain from reusing and recycling. That is what I want the Minister to take away.

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Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! We are in agreement, and I am very pleased about that.

I can only underline what Katarina Luhr raised in her concluding remarks here. It was what I was also touching upon with preparedness and resilience as an important issue to add to the already important issue of reducing emissions and strengthening competitiveness.

I think the member in a previous post touched upon another interesting and important aspect to keep in mind: that the cultural environment in itself is important and that it coincides with several other interests.

The concept of sustainability is quite broad – it does not only encompass sustainability in the sense of reducing emissions but also social sustainability, where the cultural environment, of course, has an important place and a completely natural and decisive place for many. It is one of the drivers for standing and sanding, perhaps for several days, a door that one wants to reuse in order to be able to repaint it and use it again.

There is a commitment here that neither begins nor ends with us coming up with new steps and decisions politically. What we are talking about now is how we can facilitate, support, and remove obstacles for a development that is already very strongly driven by individuals and companies, by very many in our country who see this as self-evident.

For me as a Christian Democrat, it is close to my heart to speak about sound stewardship, to manage what one has and utilize our resources in as effective a way as possible for oneself but also for future generations. That is why I believe that circular construction and circular economy are a crucial and important part of the climate transition but also in the story of Swedish competitiveness and that we as a country and as people can contribute to utilizing resources in an even more effective way, not only in our own country but also abroad.

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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