Circularity, reuse and resource efficiency

Circular construction and reuse

The climate impact from the production of building materials is high. An important piece of the puzzle in our work to reduce climate emissions and contribute to a more sustainable society is to focus more on reuse as part of our work in circular construction.

One of our high sustainability goals is to halve our CO2 footprint by 2030 and we are working systematically to achieve this. To scale up the work with reuse, we have:

established a reuse strategy,
started a warehouse for reuse materials, our Reuse Hub, and
adopted a reuse target which means that all our remodeling projects must meet a circularity index of at least 20 percent.

Conscientious materials selection

Our objective is for 100 per cent of our building materials to be environmentally safe in accordance with Byggvarubedömningen (Building Material Assessment). To reduce environmental impact in both the short and long term we ensure at early stage that our projects choose the right materials and use the right methods. The climate impact from the production of building materials is high, which is why we are trying to make greater use of materials that can be reused. We are affiliated with Fossil Free Sweden's roadmap for the building and construction sector and the Klimatarena Stockholm (Climate arena Stockholm) platform to help accelerate the climate transition in Stockholm. We also participate in the Centre for Circular Building, CCBuild, which is an arena in which industry operators meet and collaborate on reuse and circular material flows in construction, demolition and property management.

Our water consumption target

In addition to easing the strain on Earth’s resources, lower water consumption also means preparing our business for a future of declining water tables and reduced availability of fresh water.

In 2021, we started work with a quantified goal in order to streamline the follow-up. Our goal is to reduce our water consumption by two percent each year. The outcome in 2023 was 364 l/sqm, which is 11 per cent higher than in 2022. This is primarily due to the fact that our water consumption in 2022 was greatly reduced at the beginning of the year due to low activity during the pandemic.

Waste management – calculation methods and results

For our part, waste is generated partly in connection with construction projects and tenant customisations, and partly through the waste generated by tenants and ourselves in our operations. The latter is calculated using data from our main waste contractors and based on quantity, type and weight. We currently have access to statistics for 63 of our properties; a small number fall outside our statistics because our customers have the option of choosing a waste contractor other than the one we recommend. We strive for efficient use of resources and encourage all customers to separate their waste into at least five fractions.

Construction waste from our projects is managed by individual contractors, and in 2020 we tightened our contracts regarding the reporting of waste statistics. Properties that are certified to BREEAM standard are also subject to special rules regarding areas such as recycling and waste management.

Changed 13 March 2024

Sustainability House

We are now taking sustainability to a new level by constructing buildings from buildings in Haga Norra - welcome to Hållbarhetshuset (Sustainability House)!