Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb Nordrhein-Westfalen (BLB NRW) is driving forward the reuse of building materials across its property portfolio. As the owner and landlord of around 4,000 buildings with a net floor area of approximately 10.4 million square metres, the state-owned institution ranks among the largest portfolio holders in Europe. To permanently integrate circular methods into standard operations, a long-term framework agreement running until 2030 has been signed with specialist firm Concular.
The agreement builds on previous joint projects, including the inventory audit at the historic Behrensbau in Düsseldorf. Following Concular's partnership with the Berlin TXL project in early 2026, this latest contractual agreement marks a strategic shift in the institutional property sector: circular building methods are increasingly moving beyond the status of isolated pilot schemes and are becoming standardised at portfolio level.
Systematic inventory and regional infrastructure
At the heart of the collaboration is construction-accompanying advisory work, specialist planning, and logistical implementation for upcoming refurbishment, conversion, and deconstruction measures by the state enterprise. Concular supports the measures along defined processes to secure building materials prior to demolition and make them reusable.
- —Pre-deconstruction audits: Upcoming schemes are assessed in accordance with DIN SPEC 91484 for their potential for non-destructive dismantling and reuse.
- —Digital BLB component exchange: Via a dedicated platform, available resources are allocated internally on an availability basis for new builds and refurbishments, or marketed externally.
- —Regional urban mining hubs: Specially established centres in North Rhine-Westphalia serve for interim storage, repair, and legally compliant recertification of dismantled building components.
- —Life cycle assessment: Digital building resource passports and life cycle assessments record embodied carbon emissions and provide comprehensive documentation of material cycles.
Contractual framework for building material recovery
Clear contractual provisions have been made for the economic recovery of materials. These comprise the direct acquisition of components at residual value by Concular as well as structured models for disposal to third parties, including revenue sharing. Where building materials remain within the state-owned portfolio, contracts for work govern professional deconstruction, reprocessing, and transport logistics.
The long-term commitment until 2030 offers planning certainty to both partners and forms the basis for targeted investments in logistics and specialist staff locally. The initiative demonstrates how large portfolios can systematically reduce resource consumption, establishing a model that sends a strong signal to both municipal and private-sector major portfolio holders.
