SKG-IKOB Knowledge Center Circular Business in the Construction and Real Estate Sector

We are in the midst of the transition to a circular (construction) economy. More and more clients, designers, manufacturers and construction companies are looking for answers to circular issues on this rapidly evolving topic. With planetary limits being reached, scarcity of raw materials emerging and changes in the climate increasing, the urgency is greater than ever. SKG-IKOB Certification has taken the initiative to set up the Knowledge Center for Circular Enterprise in the construction and real estate sector.

Three other companies are involved in this initiative, namely Alkondor, Intal and New Horizon. Alkondor specializes in sustainable and circular facades. Intal develops, engineers, supplies and manufactures aluminum window, door and curtain wall systems. New Horizon dismantles buildings with the goal of collecting as many materials as possible for reuse.

In addition to examining, testing and certifying "new" building products and processes, SKG-IKOB has also built up expertise in the field of circular construction. In 2020, SKG-IKOB was commissioned by the National Property Administration to draw up a protocol for the reuse of hollow-core slab flooring components from demolished buildings, in the context of circular construction and reuse of raw materials. This protocol is used to verify that the hollow-core slab floor elements are still suitable and of sufficient quality to be used in new construction projects.

In early 2022, BRL 7010 was published as an addition to the already KOMO-certified products, focusing on renewable or recycled content. 

Together with BouwCirculair, SKG-IKOB developed the Mother Specification with uniform best requirements for products such as concrete, asphalt and paving brick. This specification enables municipalities, water boards, the state and provinces to issue circular requests for projects in a uniform manner. SKG-IKOB then independently assesses the projects and reports on the progress of achieving the established climate goals in terms of CO2 reduction and circularity. 

The knowledge and experience gained will be used to achieve the goals of the Circular Entrepreneurship Knowledge Center. One of the goals is to offer employees from the construction and real estate sector the opportunity to develop further in the field of sustainability and circularity. The first step in establishing the knowledge center is to determine the training needs in the sector, after which courses can be developed that meet these needs. These trainings will then be transformed into concrete courses, training, consulting products and validation and certification methods. In addition, an online platform will be created with self-study options for employees in the sector. The intended goal is for employees and employers to have access to the latest and most relevant information on circularity and sustainability and to have future-proof knowledge in this area. 

Phase 1 of building the knowledge center is currently underway. Kees Verweel, Sector Coordinator for Circular Construction at SKG-IKOB and a member of the Team Circular Facade Economy, conducted a desk research during 2023 in cooperation with SME companies to identify developments in the field of circularity and sustainability. In addition, the need for knowledge and the contribution one can make were surveyed. Based on this, knowledge modules and the online platform 'SKG-IKOB Circular' are currently being developed.

By mid-2024, the knowledge modules will be available through SKG-IKOB training courses. The first module 'The road to a circular (construction) economy; the basics', was given at the end of March. During this module, participants were fully updated on how to achieve the goals of the Dutch Climate Agreement, the R-ladder, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), etc. 

The objective of the SKG-IKOB Knowledge Center Circular Entrepreneurship is in line with the fact that the facade industry wants to make the transition to a Circular Facade Economy. The aim is to maintain the highest possible quality of facades, facade products and materials for the next cycle in the biological and technical cycles. The Circular Facade Economy is an initiative of five facade construction trade associations: the Metal Window and Facade Trade Association (VMRG), Association of Plastic Facade Elements Industry (VKG), Dutch Trade Association for the Carpentry Industry (NBvT), Bouwend Nederland Vakgroep Glas and Algemene Branchevereniging Hang- en Sluitwerk (VHS).