# Policies as Drivers for Circular Economy in the Construction Sector in the Nordics
## 3 Results
### Drivers and Barriers for CE Business Activities  
Ten focus interviews were conducted to increase the knowledge on how policies have supported the establishment of businesses with a CE focus. The evaluation of local and national policies clearly illustrated how policy instruments can drive CE initiatives. This was also highlighted during in-depth discussions with company representatives, who noted how particular national and local CE policies incentivized CE actions and supported their own business model. The interviews confirmed the results of the assessment presented in Table 3, accenting that the transposing of national recycling targets into local CE strategies with a subsequent implementation through GPP requirements for public construction projects provides a leverage for companies involved in recycling and the utilization of secondary materials. In the interviews it was highlighted that GPP is a key driver for CE business models. GPP can promote recycling and the use of secondary raw materials and reusable construction products. GPP is needed both in construction and in demolition. Identified barriers related to GPP criteria for secondary raw materials related to the market's readiness; some difficulties were identified related to the supply of high-quality secondary materials, complying with the requirements of both the property developer and the contractor. The lack of information on how to set realistic GPP requirements for recycling and reuse options was highlighted in one interview. Three interviews disclosed that there is often a lack of information among stakeholders on the availability of recovered and reusable materials and components. There is a need to streamline the reuse processes to make the reusable products and recovered materials easily accessible. This requires, e.g., comprehensive reuse inventories and providing storage solutions. The logistics in dismounting products from buildings must be synchronized with the delivery for reuse. If not, the storage creates extra costs. To enable this, a better coverage of online digital marketplaces for a business-to-business exchange of waste and the production side-streams for this type of CE business models need to evolve. The material availability is also presented as an important aspect to be considered. In one interview, it was highlighted that mineral waste cannot be transported far from the demolition site without increasing costs and environmental impacts. The importance of the effective identification, sorting, and collection of building materials to support the security of supply was highlighted in two interviews. Dismantling reusable products, structures, and elements prior to demolition delays the demolition process and increases storage needs and demolition costs. Doubts about quality (especially fluctuations in the quality of recovered materials) were highlighted in all interviews as one key barrier for recycling. Concerns about the quality of the waste, such as impurities and material degradation, and the potential presence of hazardous materials, such as paint and glues, may cause a safety concern for the recovered waste streams, especially if a tight quality-control system is not applied. Construction products containing recovered materials need to comply with product requirements, which do not differentiate between virgin and recovered materials. In two interviews, the requirement of the CE-marking of construction products put on the market (as stated in the Construction Product Regulation [37]) was seen as a driver for businesses. Having access to the required data has enabled them to turn this hinder into a driver. In all interviews there was a consensus that the main obstacle for the reuse and recycling of C&DW is economic, due to the price of secondary raw materials and used products often exceeding the price of virgin raw materials and new products (e.g., aggregate, wood, glass, and gypsum). In Finland, Norway, and Sweden, the abundance of wood and aggregate, in particular, limit the interest in recycling these materials.