Circular concrete – reducing, reusing and recycling concrete
Why circular concrete makes business sense
Circular concrete supports the transition to low-carbon construction while delivering tangible business benefits. By reducing the need for new materials, extending the use of existing structures, and recovering value from concrete at the end of its life, organizations can optimize costs, improve project predictability, and meet increasingly demanding sustainability and procurement requirements.
Therefore, for organizations investing in the built environment, circular concrete is not only a sustainable measure. It is a practical way to manage regulatory risk, reduce lifecycle costs, improve resource security, and protect the long-term value of assets. As environmental requirements tighten, and the availability and cost of virgin materials become more uncertain, circular concrete helps organizations make more resilient and future-proof investment decisions.
AFRY helps organizations turn circular concrete principles into practical project decisions that improve lifecycle performance, reduce risk, and create long-term value.
Why concrete matters
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in Europe, and around the world. Its excellent properties make it a technically reliable and cost-efficient choice for many applications. For this reason, decisions related to the use of concrete have a significant impact on both the climate and the environment. By using concrete more intelligently throughout its entire lifecycle, these impacts can be substantially reduced – without compromising technical performance.
What is circular concrete
Circular concrete, also referred to as the circular economy of concrete, means using concrete in a way that retains its highest value throughout its lifecycle. It prioritizes reducing the need for new concrete, reusing existing structures whenever feasible, and recycling materials into new construction applications when reuse is no longer possible. This approach supports environmentally, technically, and economically sound decision-making.
Reduce the need for new concrete throughout the lifecycle.
Reuse existing concrete structures and precast elements whenever possible.
Recycle concrete into new materials or use it as aggregate in construction and earthworks.
Circular concrete follows three key principles
Reduce concrete use across the lifecycle
Use less. Plan and optimize the entire lifecycle to avoid unnecessary material use while maximizing resource efficiency, flexibility, and long-term value.
- Lifecycle planning and optimization
- Using the right material in the right place
- Designing structures to optimize material use across lifecycle
Reuse concrete structures and elements
Keep what already exists. Keep concrete structures and elements in service for as long as possible before replacing them.
- Renovation that preserves existing structures
- Reuse of precast concrete elements, such as hollow-core slabs and railway sleepers
- Design for future adaptability, including Design for Disassembly
Recycle concrete and materials into new uses
Recover value from materials. Replace virgin materials with recycled materials and industrial side streams when reuse is no longer feasible.
- Recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) for new concrete
- Low-carbon concrete using recycled and alternative binders, including industrial side streams
- Recycling crushed concrete and shotcrete rebound for on-site earthworks and fill applications
The principles of circular concrete are simple: use less, keep what already exists, and recover value from materials. Their application continues to evolve as technologies, regulations, business models, and industry practices develop, creating new opportunities across the construction value chain.
Benefits of circular concrete across industries
Circular concrete is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but a set of technically and economically sound approaches. It provides significant benefits across different sectors, helping organizations manage risks and make better decisions in a changing operating environment:
- Property owners and investors: A controlled approach to meeting embodied and lifecycle carbon targets under building regulations, improved management of lifecycle risks and costs, and increased attractiveness of assets to current and future users.
- Infrastructure construction and public sector stakeholders: A structured way to achieve public procurement climate and circularity targets, enhanced security of supply and maintenance reliability, and better utilization of local material flows.
- Construction companies: Smooth and controlled project delivery, optimization of materials and on-site flows, reduced waste and delay risks, and transparent, verifiable sustainability practices that build trust with clients and authorities.
- Industrial start-ups: Flexible and scalable facilities that support rapid growth while avoiding unnecessary upfront investments and material use.
- Energy sector: Improved acceptability and predictability of investments, management of lifecycle emissions and material-related risks, and long-lasting, adaptable structural solutions for evolving energy systems.
- Material and product industries: Commercial success of new materials and carbon storage-based solutions is enabled by aligning technical feasibility, cost structures, regulatory requirements, and market demand.
New EU regulations are making the circular economy of concrete increasingly cost-effective, easier to verify, and more competitive. Harmonized product data, stronger markets for recycled materials, and the pricing of carbon-intensive virgin materials are transforming circularity from a nice-to-have into a strategic competitive advantage.
Realizing these benefits requires an understanding of both environmental impacts and lifecycle economics. AFRY supports clients with cost management approaches that help evaluate investment options, lifecycle costs, and long-term asset performance.
AFRY as a partner in circular concrete
AFRY is one of the leading experts in circular concrete in the Nordic region and Central Europe. Our expertise covers concrete technology, low-carbon concrete, recycled concrete aggregates, material reuse, lifecycle assessment, circular construction and sustainable infrastructure.
Circular concrete can be implemented from multiple starting points depending on project objectives. It may begin with architectural and technical design, environmental and permitting considerations, or business development – or a combination of these.
These approaches are supported by extensive expertise in concrete technology and circular economy principles, applied throughout the lifecycle of projects in the built environment, industry, and energy sectors.
AFRY has one of the largest commercial concrete laboratories in the Nordics, supporting clients with technically sound, tested, and verifiable solutions. Laboratory expertise enables the development and evaluation of new materials, recycling solutions, and low-carbon concrete concepts as part of projects.
Advancing the circular economy of concrete is based on long-term, systematic work. This is guided by AFRY’s public Circular Economy Green Deal commitment in Finland, which integrates circular principles into everyday design and client work. Our commitment means that circular concrete is not limited to isolated pilot projects. It is a systematic, measurable, and verifiable way of improving lifecycle performance across buildings, infrastructure, energy, and industrial projects, with solutions that can be scaled across markets.
Get in touch and let’s discuss solutions
Whether your goal is to reduce emissions, optimize costs, improve resource efficiency, meet future regulatory requirements, or develop new circular business opportunities, AFRY helps identify practical ways to apply circular concrete.
Circular concrete can start small and scale to larger applications – we tailor every solution to your project goals.
Explore our projects
The principles of the circular economy of concrete support both project-specific technical solutions and the development of our clients’ businesses.
