Meeting with the Nordic Ministers of Housing and Construction

The Nordics Aim to be Leading in Sustainable Construction

Publiceret 14-08-2024

This week marked a significant gathering of the Nordic Ministers overseeing Housing and Construction. At the meeting, the Nordic Ministers of construction and housing declared their wish for the Nordic construction sector to be the most sustainable in the world and recommend that the Nordic Council of Ministers prioritise this area in a new programme starting from 2025. The Ministers also recommended that the programme focus on the themes climate, circularity, digitalisation and the EU.

Group photo of the Nordic Ministers from the meeting in Gothenburg — In the picture (left to right): Erling Sande, Aðalsteinn Þorsteinsson, Andreas Carlson, Karen Ellemann, Mika Nykänen, Camilla Gunell, Thomas Danielsen. Photographer: Marie Fransson.

On August 13th, the Nordic ministers of construction and housing met in Gothenburg. The agenda included, among other things, the use of existing building stock and regulatory simplification for the benefit of climate-friendly construction.

“The Nordic countries face similar challenges in the housing sector, and at the meeting, we discussed, among other things, the simplification of regulations within the construction and real estate sectors. There is an ongoing simplification effort throughout the Nordic region, and we can therefore exchange experiences on national initiatives to simplify the regulatory frameworks,” says Sweden’s Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Andreas Carlson, who hosted the meeting.

Strong Results

During the meeting, the Ministers were presented with the results from the initial phase of the Nordic Sustainable Construction programme.

The Ministers declared that they would like to see the program continue under the Nordic Council of Ministers for Sustainable Growth (MR-VÆKST), which is led by the Nordic Ministers for business, energy, and regional policy.

“I am delighted to note that Nordic co-operation on creating a sustainable construction sector strengthens the region internally and that our experience and analyses are sought after in the EU and the rest of the world."
- Karen Ellemann, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Drawing from the insights of authorities and stakeholders from the Nordic construction sector, the Ministers declared that they wish to see the new programme focusing on:

Climate
Continued focus on coordination, implementation, and improvement of building regulations (including regulation of buildings’ climate impact throughout the entire lifecycle (LCA)) – this with a continued focus on current and upcoming EU regulations and initiatives. Increase knowledge about how we in the Nordics can minimise the building’s climate and resource impact and use low-emission and biogenic building materials to replace high-emission materials.
Circular Economy
Focus on how we in the Nordics can preserve and utilize existing buildings, structures, and building products and reduce the use of chemicals. Improve construction skills across the Nordic countries with bio-based, low-carbon, and/or reusedmaterials, design for disassembly, and improved building design that promotes less material consumption and better buildings. Collaborate to create standards for reused building materials.
Digitalisation
Increase awareness of AI methods to build better, and use digitalization to reduce the administrative burden of new regulations on buildings’ climate impact. Increase compatibility between existing platforms in the value chain and harmonize across the national systems in the Nordics. Increase competencies to handle and deliver data across the value chain.

It was also proposed to have EU – Implementation of New Regulation as a crosscutting theme. Focus on sharing knowledge and experiences in implementing new legislation from the EU and representing Nordic interests.

The ministers’ support of the preliminary framework of a potential new programme marks an important step in the direction of further Nordic collaboration backing the Nordic Vision 2030 of becoming a sustainable and integrated region in respect to sustainable construction and housing.

Utilisation of the Existing Building Stock, Regulation Simplification and Rental Market

A broad spectrum of topics – besides Nordic collaboration – were discussed at the meeting, including the use of the existing building stock, dynamics of the rental market, Nordic alignment and green focus in the adaptation of the new annexes to the eurocodes, how digitalisation and regulation simplification can be improved and management of raw materials.

The agenda focused on both present and future strategies aimed at fostering an integrated, sustainable and competitive housing and construction sector within the Nordic region.

The Ministers shared experiences on the utilization of existing structures and strategies to decrease the volume of demolished buildings. Their dialogue evolved around the report ‘Policies Enabling Reuse of Construction Products in the Nordics’.

In addition, the ministers deliberated on the simplification of regulations, drawing inspiration from the Danish agreement passed in May. As per this agreement, Denmark is set to revise its building regulations with an emphasis on mitigating regulatory conflicts. The Ministers shared their experiences with adapting the building regulations to support the green transition.

See an overview of Nordic climate regulations and limit values integration here.

The Ministers also discussed their strategies for adjusting the rental market to guarantee an adequate supply of rental homes.

Overview of Gothenburg’s past, present and future

Following the meeting, the ministers went on site visits in the Gothenburg area including Karlatornet, Göta älv, World of Volvo and Villa Korndal - each with its own unique contribution to the region’s development and history.

These sites collectively represent the region’s architectural character, industrial heritage, and historic significance, providing the ministers with a comprehensive overview of the region’s past, present, and future.