Circular Construction Innovation Hub: Maximizing Material Productivity in Construction

Unlocking Canada's Full Circular Construction Potential

We’re reimagining Canada’s construction sector from a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and waste into a low-carbon, resource-efficient engine of innovation, productivity, and resilience.

Powered by collaboration, innovation, and impact, the Hub will support cutting-edge design and reuse practices, enable supportive policy, and de-risk investment in scalable circular strategies and technology to build value and future-proof Canada's construction and real estate sector.

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Linear Practices Result in Added Costs and Risks

Canada’s construction sector is facing rising costs, regulatory pressures, and supply chain risks, threatening its competitiveness and ability to deliver.

Material Costs Are Rising Dependence on virgin resources increases costs and exposes companies to supply chain risks if supply lines are disrupted.
Inefficient Material Use In Canada, 4 million tonnes of construction waste are generated annually, with only 16% diverted from landfill and an estimated 85% potential diversion rate.
Resource Intensive Construction is responsible for 40% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and over 50% of raw material extraction and consumption.
Short-Term Designs Buildings are not designed for longevity or adaptability, reducing future potential uses and resale value.
Barriers to Innovation The construction Industry is not structured to easily adopt new technology and sustainable innovations.

Circular Construction: An Opportunity to Build Value and Eliminate Waste

Applying circular economy strategies within the construction and real estate sector is a massive economic opportunity in Canada that is currently being missed.

A shift toward more efficient, cost-effective, and resilient construction practices and supply chains is critical given current challenges around growing affordable housing options, making productivity improvements, ensuring adaptive and resilient buildings and infrastructure, and addressing resource challenges and environmental concerns. A circular construction model will help Canada’s construction and real estate sector be more cost-effective, resource-efficient, and prosperous.

Designing for Adaptability — Buildings are designed for adaptive use and reuse, ensuring they can be reconfigured, deconstructed, and repurposed instead of demolished.
Extending the Building Life Cycles — Existing buildings can be retrofitted, upgraded, and repurposed to extend their lifespans and reduce the need for new construction and materials.
Maximizing Material Life Cycles — Valuable materials are recovered, processed, and reintegrated into new projects and assets, enhancing material productivity.

Why This Matters for Business

Circular construction creates stronger, more profitable businesses by turning today's risks into tomorrow’s opportunities.

More Resilient Supply Chains

Local reuse and material recovery reduce dependence on volatile global markets.

Higher Resale Value

Circular building practices create assets that maintain long-term value and have higher marketing potential.

Financial Stability

Companies with circular strategies are better positioned to manage market and supply chain fluctuations.

Market Leadership

Circular construction is a multi-billion dollar global opportunity that forward-thinking businesses are already capitalizing on.

About the Circular Construction Innovation Hub

The Circular Construction Innovation Hub (CCIH or ‘the Hub’) is a national initiative designed to accelerate the transition to a resource-efficient, low-carbon, and financially resilient built environment in Canada.

The Hub’s systems change model, rooted in rigorous research conducted by systems change experts, operates across three strategic pillars:

Collaboration: Coordination & Knowledge Sharing: Convene multi-stakeholder coalitions across industry and government to remove systemic barriers to circular adoption and share knowledge.

Innovation: Test Beds & Demonstration Projects: Support on-the-ground research, pilots, and demonstrations of adaptive design, repurposing structures, and material reuse projects to develop scalable, real-world solutions.

Impact: Scaling & Influence: Research findings, learnings and case studies, technical guidance, and policy briefs are shared and amplified widely. Insights and real-world learnings inform policy, procurement practices, standards, investments, business planning, and skills training.

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Future-Proofing Canada’s Construction Sector

The Hub exists to future-proof construction and real estate by accelerating the shift to a circular economy through collaboration, innovation, and scalable impact.

The Hub achieves this by aligning stakeholders to accelerate market transformation, advancing innovation to enhance productivity, delivering cost-efficient, market-ready solutions, and cutting carbon emissions while creating value, reducing waste, optimizing resource use, and strengthening resilience across supply chains and assets.

Steering Committee Guiding Impact

A Steering Committee brings together leading national industry associations from across the construction value chain alongside government, academic, and non-government organizations to guide the Hub’s strategic direction and scale its impact. The Steering Committee is working to support high-impact projects, engage stakeholders, and strengthen collaboration to accelerate the adoption of circular construction practices in Canada.