David van Duffelen, with his company Circq, now has a nice range of building products that are almost completely circular. They are not inferior to new products and the price is also comparable.
When buildings are demolished, a lot of material that is still perfectly usable is thrown away. But you can't solve that by just collecting and storing it. Before the material can be reused, you have to turn it into products that you can market. Moreover, the price has to be right. David van Duffelen knows how to find the market better and better. "It makes me happy that interest in circular building products is growing," he says.
David, why did you start Circq?
"I worked in the financial world for a very long time, but didn't get any pleasure out of it anymore. I wanted something different, something useful, something with impact. I talked to people about that and then something beautiful happened. A friend of mine from demolition said that a lot of materials are thrown away after the demolition process, so a friend who owns a wholesale business in building materials suggested we do something with that: salvage 'waste' from demolition sites, treat it and make it suitable for reuse. With that idea, and input from both those friends, I set to work.
How did you approach it?
"Mostly quietly. I let the company grow organically so that we don't outrun or lose ourselves. That means I first wanted to show what we can do, and that is turn used building materials into something beautiful. I marketed that, and at the same time I made contact with numerous potential partners, including demolishers, processors and buyers. They contributed some of their thoughts on product development. Together with our partners, we extract materials from buildings that are being demolished or renovated, and we take those materials, refurbish them, and make sure they are incorporated back into construction as a circular product."
Is there demand?
"Yes, but that demand still has to grow. It arises from the prescribing parties such as architects, contractors and designers, but not so much from those who process the materials. They generally like to work with stuff they know. So it will take some time for circular materials to establish a foothold, especially in traditional construction. I did get a little mistaken about that, to be honest. Furthermore, in nine out of ten cases the price is the deciding factor. Circular materials are often seen as more expensive, so I very consciously make sure that our price level can compete with new products. In this way, I myself hope to make the choice a little easier for customers."
What do you supply now, and how are you expanding the range?
"We now have ceiling panels, acoustic islands, ceiling and wall panels, system walls, plaster and insulation materials. Initially, we focused on the finishing sector. We supplied circular materials for furnishing spaces, such as ceiling and wall panels. Now that architects are finding us a little better, we also get demand for other products, for example, circular wood for facades. That's what I mean by organic growth. We weren't doing anything with wood for exterior applications yet, but when such a demand comes in, I start looking in my network. Maybe it then remains a one-time delivery, but it can also happen in such a way that a contact grows into a partnership. And that we can then add circular wood for facade, or something else, to our product range."
You have to certify the products, of course?
"That's right. We go through that process sequentially for the different products. We have also had environmental certificates drawn up, with complete Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) now performed for three products. These have then been registered in the National Environmental Database (NMD). The use of circular products affects the energy label of a home or building. It also affects the MKI values, which say something about the price in euros of the environmental impact of the materials."
How can things get evenbetter in terms of circular construction?
"If the government takes a role in making construction more sustainable. This can be done by prescribing that a certain percentage of materials must be circular, or by using the CO₂ impact as a guideline. I expect the government to initially set requirements for its own real estate and at a later stage develop regulations for the construction industry. For example, a carbon tax on new building materials would be a big step in the right direction."
Do you also do knowledge sharing?
"I get a lot of interview requests from students who are doing research on the circular market. It is very different from the linear market, which is why I always explain our business model and how we work. In my network are parties affiliated with Cirkelstad. That is a national cooperative that is committed to cities without waste, and wants to create a circular and inclusive construction economy With those parties I share knowledge about business processes, among other things."
What's coming up in the (near) future?
"I was invited to give a presentation at the National Property Office. That happened at the intercession of a number of people who are already working with our products, and who want to enthuse their colleagues. I am greatly looking forward to that. That hearsay effect is very important. That's why I want to do more promotion, references on the website and so on. Many projects have already been realized. Two great examples: BAM recently used wall panels in a home renovation project in Capelle aan den IJssel, and system walls were used in the office of Sociaal Advocaten Rotterdam."
Do you enjoy your work now?
"Haha, yes absolutely. We are still small, so I do a lot myself. I deal with product development, consult with suppliers, processors and customers, make sure there are references on the site, and you name it. It feels good that with Circq I am contributing to a more sustainable (construction) world."
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