DA Position on the BMWSB Annual Review

Strengthening Circular Economy, Resource Security and Regional Value Creation in Construction

The annual review of the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB) shows that the Federal Government is taking the challenges of the housing market seriously and aims to provide new momentum in particular through funding programmes, accelerated procedures and investments in social housing. Many of these measures can help stabilise construction activity in the short term and create urgently needed housing.

From the perspective of the German Demolition Association, however, the review still falls short in several key areas. In particular, the topics of circular economy, resource conservation, secondary raw materials and resilient regional material cycles have not yet been integrated into construction and housing policy with the necessary depth.

Especially against the backdrop of geopolitical crises, disrupted global supply chains, rising raw material prices and growing requirements for climate and resource protection, one thing becomes clear:

the future of construction will not be decided solely on the approval side, but increasingly on the material side.

Acceleration Alone Does Not Solve Resource Problems

The so-called “construction turbo” aims to significantly accelerate planning and approval procedures. From a practical perspective, however, it is clear that faster procedures alone do not create additional raw materials or stable material markets.

The central challenges of the coming years lie in particular in:

• secure raw material supply,
• the availability of regional construction materials,
• rising material and transport costs,
• limited landfill and backfilling capacities,
• and the resilient organisation of regional material flows.

The experience of recent years in particular has shown how vulnerable global supply chains are to geopolitical conflicts, energy crises and international market disruptions. The construction industry feels these developments directly through:

• volatile material prices,
• supply bottlenecks,
• longer construction times,
• and increasing uncertainty in project costing.

A future-proof construction policy must therefore place much stronger focus than before on regional raw material supply and the use of existing mineral material flows.

Secondary Materials Are Both Resource Security and Climate Protection

Mineral construction and demolition waste already represents Germany’s largest waste stream. At the same time, it forms a significant anthropogenic raw material stock.

The use of quality-assured secondary materials contributes in several ways at once:

• conserving natural resources,
• reducing transport emissions,
• reducing pressure on land and landfill capacities,
• stabilising regional construction material markets,
• ensuring supply security in times of crisis,
• and strengthening regional value chains.

Especially when it comes to regionally available substitute building materials, every tonne of material that can be used locally and to a high standard reduces transport, conserves primary raw materials and stabilises construction costs.

Circular economy must therefore not be understood solely as environmental policy, but increasingly as part of Germany’s raw material, infrastructure and resilience strategy.

The Construction Industry Needs Functioning Material Markets, Not Symbolic Debates

In political debate, circular economy is often reduced to recycling quotas or abstract sustainability targets. The reality on construction sites is much more complex.

For secondary materials to actually be used more widely, what is needed above all is:

• legally secure framework conditions,
• reliable quality standards,
• functioning tendering models,
• digital transparency on material availability,
• and acceptance in planning, approval and financing.

The decisive point is that secondary materials must be considered early on in planning and tendering — not only at the end of a construction project as a “waste problem.”

Taking regionally available circular materials into account already in the planning phase enables:

• realistic life-cycle assessments,
• better CO₂ balances,
• greater supply security,
• and more resilient construction processes.

Sustainability Needs Practicality

The annual review repeatedly refers to climate-neutral and resource-efficient construction.

From a practical perspective, however, there remains a significant gap between political sustainability goals and actual feasibility on construction sites. Many companies are currently facing:

• high documentation requirements,
• complex verification procedures,
• additional expert reports,
• contradictory funding and certification systems,
• and considerable uncertainty regarding the use of innovative or sustainable construction materials.

Smaller and medium-sized companies in particular are increasingly reaching organisational and economic limits. Sustainability can only succeed if it is:

• technically feasible,
• economically viable,
• regionally implementable,
• and designed in a regulatorily consistent way.

Circular Economy Must Become a Stronger Part of Construction Policy

Circular economy must no longer be treated as a downstream disposal issue.

It must become an integral part of:

• construction planning,
• tendering,
• urban development,
• infrastructure policy,
• funding logic,
• and raw material strategy.

This includes in particular:

stronger equal treatment of primary and secondary materials in tenders,
the promotion of regional material-flow solutions,
the expansion of quality-assured processing structures,
improved digital material transparency,
and the early consideration of dismantling and material concepts in the planning process.

Conclusion

The BMWSB annual review contains important impulses for stabilising the construction industry and creating additional housing. Funding programmes, urban development support and the stronger activation of existing buildings can make an important contribution here.

At the same time, however, it becomes clear that the real transformation task in construction does not lie solely in faster approvals, but in the intelligent organisation of resources, material cycles and regional value creation.

The construction industry therefore does not need a debate focused solely on acceleration, but an integrated construction and raw materials policy that thinks together:

• supply security,
• resource conservation,
• climate protection,
• economic viability,
• and practical feasibility.

Especially in times of global uncertainty, regional cycles, quality-assured secondary materials and resilient material-flow systems can become a decisive stabilising factor for the German construction industry.