Combient Pure and the core partners of the Nordic Circularity Piloting Program have today released the program’s final results report, underlining that circular technical building solutions are no longer a future vision, but a real business opportunity in building projects across the Nordics. The report, From Words to Action: Nordic Circularity Piloting Program for Technical Building Solutions, summarizes 18 months of work between 21 piloting companies and the wider Nordic building sector.
Read the full report here
A Nordic, business-driven answer to global emissions and resource challenges Buildings are responsible for a major share of global emissions and resource use, and as energy systems decarbonise, more of the building sector’s environmental footprint comes from the production, rather than the use phase. Technical building solutions, the "hidden" infrastructure that delivers energy, water, indoor climate, mobility and access to building users, are among the most emission-intensive and least circular parts of today's buildings.
To change this, Combient Pure, with the support of Nordic Innovation and a consortium of core partners, launched the Nordic Circularity Piloting Program (NCPP) in November 2024. The goal was to move from the discussions around circularity in technical building solutions to action: trialing what works in practice, in real building projects and pioneering industry actors.
Eight pilots, 21 companies, one shared mission Over 18 months, the NCPP brought together manufacturers, property owners, contractors, dismantlers, consultants and reuse operators in eight pilots across Sweden, Finland and Norway. The pilots covered five major product categories, HVAC, elevators, sanitary equipment, access systems and electrical systems, and involved 21 companies from across the value chain. The final report shares details on the execution of each pilot, what was learned that others can utilize, and how the companies plan to scale the business solutions to serve the wider market.
What we know now: the technology is ready and the demand is real Across all pilots, the conclusion is clear: technology is not the barrier to circular technical building solutions. Products can be dismantled, refurbished, re-warranted and reinstalled, often using capabilities that manufacturers and other actors in the value chain already have.
A final survey among the pilot teams of the program confirms this readiness:
More than 90 % of respondents viewed their pilot as successful
85% confirmed that the solutions are technically and operationally feasible in real-world conditions
78% saw clear customer interest, and 85% said they are likely to scale the solution in new projects.
Where pilots did run into difficulties, the reasons were almost always organisational: timing of decisions, misaligned incentives, contract structures, missing standards or unclear responsibilities between partners.
Three circular flows that define the next moves Looking across all pilot cases, the report identifies three main ways technical building solutions can circulate, and what each implies for business:
Producer-led flows. Manufacturers organise take-back, refurbishment and resale of their own products, turning the installed base into a multi-life asset.
Flows within a single owner's portfolio. Property owners reuse systems and components between their own buildings, supported by consultants, service providers and manufacturers.
Flows between different owners. Reuse operators, dismantlers, wholesalers and digital platforms move products from one owner's building to another's, backed by quality assurance and shared standards.
For each of these flows, the report sets out concrete next steps for manufacturers, property owners, service providers, installers, distributors and public procurers, from creating dedicated channels for refurbished products to embedding reuse clauses in tenders and contracts.
Policy input: making circular solutions the default, not the exception The final chapter of the report turns insights from the pilots into input for Nordic policy makers. Policy input directed at the Nordic Council of Ministers focuses on clarifying the regulatory status of refurbished products, improving incentives for reuse over new production, supporting shared testing and quality standards, and harmonising rules across the region so circular solutions can scale faster.
An open invitation to the market The NCPP was designed as a catalyst, not an endpoint. With the final report, the pioneering companies that piloted circular solutions are openly sharing their methods, tools and lessons learned with other companies and organisations that want to drive circularity in technical building solutions forward.
For building owners, manufacturers, contractors, consultants, dismantlers and policy makers who are ready to move, the From Words to Action report offers a concrete proof point on how the technology, business potential and early examples are already here.
Utilizing the learnings from our program, we now invite the whole Nordic building ecosystem to grasp the business opportunity in circular solutions!