The built environment is one of the most resource-intensive and carbon-intensive sectors in Europe, accounting for approximately 40% of energy consumption, 36% of CO2 emissions, and more than one third of total waste generation. Despite increasing policy ambition under the European Green Deal, the Renovation Wave, and the transition towards zero-emission buildings, current renovation practices remain largely linear, fragmented, and insufficiently scaled. Circularity principles, digital decision-support, and social acceptance are still weakly integrated into mainstream renovation processes, limiting both environmental performance and market uptake.
SIRCULAR addresses this challenge by responding to a clear policy and societal need: enabling deep renovation of existing buildings through circular, low-carbon, and digitally supported solutions, while ensuring economic feasibility and social acceptance. The project aligns with key EU strategies, including the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), the EU Taxonomy, and Horizon Europe priorities on climate neutrality, resource efficiency, and citizen-centred innovation.
The overall objective of SIRCULAR is to develop, demonstrate, and prepare for replication an integrated framework combining innovative construction technologies, digital tools, and participatory approaches to accelerate the decarbonisation and circularisation of the European building stock. Technically, the project develops prefabricated, low-carbon building components incorporating reused, recycled, and bio-based materials, aiming to significantly reduce embodied and operational emissions. In parallel, SIRCULAR delivers a digital platform integrating circularity assessment, energy and comfort evaluation, and a marketplace for secondary construction materials, enabling informed decision-making across the renovation lifecycle.
The project pathway to impact is structured around three interconnected dimensions. First, technological impact is achieved through the development and validation of scalable renovation solutions and assessment methodologies capable of increasing building circularity up to 75% and reducing energy demand by approximately 25%. Second, systemic and market impact is pursued through demonstration activities, business model development, and replication strategies that reduce time-to-market and de-risk investments in circular renovation. Third, societal and policy impact is addressed by actively engaging stakeholders across the value chain and by generating evidence to inform local and regional policy frameworks.
SSH play a central role in SIRCULAR by ensuring that technological innovation is aligned with human, social, and institutional dimensions.
