New project expedites circular economy in MEP
12.3.2025 – The project collects information and investigates ways in which circular economy can be achieved in practice. The prerequisites for the reuse of products are also investigated.
The circular economy of MEP equipment and components holds a lot of untapped potential that would help reduce the carbon footprint of construction and improve material efficiency in alteration projects. In addition to the environmental benefits, circular economy can also help reduce costs.
These issues are inspected in the joint Circular Economy in Building Services project of MEP industry operators, which collects information and uses example sites to study the way circular economy is achieved in practice. The project also takes a look at the prerequisites for the reuse of products, such as suitability requirements. Practical guidelines will be drawn up on the basis of the results to enable different MEP industry operators to promote circular economy through their own actions.
Practical instructions to implement circular economy
The project, which runs until August/September 2025, involves drawing up a research report on the current state and development needs of circular economy in MEP. The project also aims to identify potential recyclable components and create a process description of the implementation of circular economy. On the basis of these, practical instruction cards are prepared for different operators to use in their own work. The materials produced in the project are available to everyone, free of charge.
The Circular Economy in Building Services project is primarily implemented by Finnish Building Services Industries and Trade (Talteka), with Granlund involved in a consultancy role. The property owners involved in the project include CapMan Real Estate and Sponda. The project also includes the commercial and office premises construction company AMP-Yhtiöt Oy, the Helsinki Circular Economy Cluster Programme, Rakennustuotteiden Laatu Säätiö sr, Green Building Council Finland, the HVAC product information register LVI-info.fi and the Finnish Electrotechnical Trade Association.
The project has received support from the Ministry of the Environment through the Low-carbon Built Environment Programme, which is funded by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
Plenty of potential in the reuse of MEP
MEP’s contribution to material emissions has gone slightly under the radar, although it generally accounts for the second largest share of the carbon footprint of buildings after frameworks.
For example, alterations take place relatively frequently in business premises, offices and hotels during the building’s lifecycle. In alteration work, MEP has to be replaced long before the end of the components’ lifecycle. Dismantled products are now efficiently recycled as metal and plastic waste, for example, although some of them could be repurposed almost as they are.
“In terms of MEP, e.g. ventilation ducts, terminal devices and luminaires could be reused to a higher degree. The project will investigate these opportunities,” says Charlotte Nyholm, Chief Specialist, Sustainable Construction at Granlund.
All production chain operators can contribute to circular economy
The Circular Economy in Building Services project collects information that MEP industry operators can use at different stages of the production chain.
Product manufacturers are able to make products which can be upgraded or used more easily for a new application. Designers are able to design sites for demolition and use recycled materials in their designs. Demolition contractors can dismantle products whole so that they can be reused at a new site. The project also investigates ways to organise the logistics of recyclable products in a cost-effective way.
Property owners want to accelerate circular economy as it helps reduce negative environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions from construction and the use of virgin materials. Promoting circular economy also entails financial incentives through products remaining usable for longer and more efficient recycling of materials.
“It is our hope that the project will provide us with good insights and practices that will help us better steer our own operations,” says Johanna Mero-Petit, ESG Manager, Sponda.
In order for circular economy to be effectively implemented, product information that facilitates recycling must be made easily accessible to all MEP industry operators. LVI-Info.fi is the industry-wide platform that conveys product information provided by product manufacturers to wholesalers, contractors and designers.
“The need for the environmental information of MEP products is increasing all the time. That’s why it is natural to supplement product information with recyclability information. The project helps us establish the kind of extra information that this requires,” says Magnus Sirén, Section Director at Talteka and CEO of LVI-Info.
More information on the project:
Charlotte Nyholm
Tytti Bruce-Hyrkäs
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