Background
The construction sector is one of the largest contributors to resource consumption, waste generation, and CO₂ emissions in Europe. Many cities and regions have set ambitious goals to make public planning and construction (PPC) processes more circular, reducing waste, reusing materials, and extending building lifecycles.
However, these circular processes often remain inefficient, difficult to upscale, and hard to replicate. Challenges include siloed administrative structures, lack of digital data and know-how, and rigid procurement and planning regulations that leave little room for innovation and sustainable practices.
Building Information Management (BIM) has the potential to transform this situation by enabling structured information flows, cross-sector collaboration, and transparent tracking of materials and building components across the entire lifecycle. Yet BIM is rarely applied in circular construction today.
CircleBIM addresses this gap by piloting and mainstreaming the use of BIM in circular planning and construction processes across the North Sea Region.
Project aims
CircleBIM aims to foster circularity in public planning and construction processes by:
- Creating collaborative and experimental platforms in the form of 6 Local Circular Construction Partnerships (LCCPs) to implement pilot projects applying BIM in circular construction.
- Strengthening interdisciplinary and transnational exchange between municipalities, public sector institutions, industry, and academia to share good practices and build know-how.
- Developing and testing a transferable CircleBIM framework to improve the use of BIM in circular construction processes.
- Establishing interoperable data systems to manage circular construction information effectively within and across regional administrations.
- Supporting the development of regional action plans and a North Sea-wide implementation strategy to guarantee policy uptake and long-term impact beyond the project duration.
In doing so, CircleBIM contributes to the goals of the EU Green Deal, the New European Bauhaus, the EU Industrial Strategy, and the EU Innovation Agenda.
Our key outputs include:
The CircleBIM Framework:
A practical, transferable framework for applying BIM in circular public planning and construction processes across cities and regions.
6 Local Circular Construction Partnerships (LCCPs):
Innovation platforms piloting BIM-supported circular construction projects in:
Arvika (SE), Middelfart (DK), Hamburg (DE), Overijssel (NL), Mechelen (BE), and Caen (FR).
Regional Action Plans:
Strategies developed from pilot project experiences to embed circular construction practices in regional and municipal policies.
A North Sea-wide Implementation Strategy:
Guidelines and recommendations for scaling up and mainstreaming circular construction with BIM in public planning and construction processes across the NSR.
Interoperable Data Systems:
Developing solutions for managing material passports, reuse data, and lifecycle information in BIM environments for public sector use.
Duration & funding
Project start: November 2024
Project end: April 2028
Co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (Interreg North Sea Programme)
Project budget: € 4.5 M
Co-financing: € 2.685.555 ERDF + €42.520 Norway
Project Partners
The CircleBIM partnership brings together 13 partner organisations from 7 North Sea Region countries, combining expertise in public sector planning, BIM, circular construction, and regional development.
By providing a CircleBIM framework through integrated BIM processes and dynamic innovation platforms, the project empowers public authorities and stakeholders across the public planning and construction value chain to collaborate more effectively and adopt circular practices, advancing the construction sector toward greater circularity.