Greater Copenhagen,
Denmark
Denmark’s showcase combines a physical material hub with a comprehensive digital marketplace and building materials registry. These digital tools aim to make Greater Copenhagen a national frontrunner.
Context
The Greater Copenhagen Area is a metropolitan region encompassing Denmark’s capital and surrounding municipalities, with a population of approximately 1.9 million. It plays a central role in Denmark’s urban development and green transition, making it a strong candidate for piloting systemic infrastructure for circular construction. The area features a high density of public and private building activity, established sustainability ambitions, and a diverse stakeholder ecosystem.
1.9 Million
Population
2,778 km2
Area
Regional level
Upscaling
The CirCoFin showcase in Greater Copenhagen is expected to deliver a fully functional CCH that offers practical solutions to reuse construction materials at a large scale. The hub will establish a physical space where reusable materials can be collected, processed, and made available for new building projects. This will be supported by a Digital Material Bank that provides transparent, real-time information about material availability and quality, helping to build market trust and enable smarter decision-making in the construction sector.
By the end of the project, Greater Copenhagen will have developed a governance model, operational structure, and collaborative approach that demonstrate how circular construction can become a valuable part of the regional economy. The showcase will generate insights and data that will be shared through CirCoFin’s broader network, helping to inspire other cities and regions across Europe to follow a similar path.
The Greater Copenhagen showcase places strong emphasis on testing and refining the practical processes that make a CCH work efficiently within an regional context. Special attention will be given to developing digital systems that can connect seamlessly with existing platforms and marketplaces, ensuring that material tracking and exchange is user-friendly and highly reliable. The project will explore innovative ways to structure the hub’s ownership and operations, including public-private partnerships and cooperative management models. It will also look at how local policy, logistics, and business incentives can align to support the growth of a robust reuse market. Through this work, the Greater Copenhagen’s showcase will focus on building a system that is not just functional but also scalable and ready to be replicated in other Danish cities, regions and beyond.
Involved partners
The Greater Copenhagen showcase is led by Gate 21, who plays a central role in bringing together municipalities, regional actors, and private stakeholders to ensure that the Circular Construction Hub is well integrated into local, regional and national sustainability strategies.
Smith Innovation contributes by designing the business and governance models that will shape the hub’s long-term success. They work closely with the engagement of key stakeholders across the construction value chain, helping to map systemic barriers, and supporting the co-creation of practical solutions that can overcome these challenges.
Circue provides the essential digital expertise for the project. Their work focuses on developing digital solutions and building tools for material tracking and documentation, and ensuring that digital systems are compatible with existing platforms in the Danish market. Circue’s contribution is critical to enabling efficient, transparent, and scalable material reuse.
