The Power of Clustering in Advancing Circular Construction
- Jun 8
- 3 min read
The construction sector contributes around 9% of the EU’s GDP and provides millions of jobs across Europe, while simultaneously generating more than one-third of all waste in the European Union. Supporting the sector’s twin transition, digital and green, requires more than technological innovation alone.
It requires coordinated ecosystems.
Training builds capacity, but collaboration builds momentum. Circular construction can only scale when skilled professionals, innovators, policymakers, and industry actors connect across borders and share knowledge.
That is exactly the role the Circular Construction Cluster was designed to play. Initiated and led by Future Needs, the cluster creates opportunities for collaboration through joint industry events, webinars, training activities, and facilitated discussions around common sector challenges.
The cluster also demonstrates the growing value of connecting projects funded under similar Horizon Europe priorities and calls.
“Too often, projects with complementary expertise operate in parallel despite addressing overlapping challenges, stakeholder groups, or technological gaps. Strategic clustering helps bridge that fragmentation by creating structured opportunities for cooperation, visibility, and long-term knowledge exchange.” Egle Joneliunaite, Communication & Dissemination Manager at Future Needs, leading the Circular Construction Cluster initiative within the RECONMATIC project.
Building a collaborative ecosystem requires more than simply connecting organisations under one network. It requires ongoing dialogue, shared learning, and spaces where people can exchange experiences openly. Through the Circular Construction Cluster, Future Needs has facilitated activities that strengthen collaboration between projects, industry, and wider stakeholder communities working towards a more circular construction sector.
Clustering Event: Promoting Circularity in Construction
Future Needs partnered with BUILD UP, the European Commission's portal for energy efficiency and renewable energy in buildings, to organise a webinar on circular construction that brought together 14 speakers representing 7 EU projects and attracted more than 100 participants online. Representatives from other EU initiatives, including Beeyonders, CircularB COST Action, Reincarnate, RobetArme, REDOL, and Valrec, joined RECONMATIC partners to explore synergies, collaboration opportunities, and shared challenges around implementing circularity across the construction lifecycle.
Webinar: The Role of a Shared Glossary in Advancing Circular Construction
To support knowledge exchange across the ecosystem, Future Needs facilitated the webinar “The Role of a Shared Glossary in Advancing Circular Construction,” bringing together two cluster projects and five experts from different disciplines. The discussion highlighted how differences in terminology across sectors and countries can create barriers to collaboration, while reinforcing the importance of building a shared understanding around circular construction.
International Collaboration Activities with the Western Balkans Circular Economy Hub
Through the cluster, Future Needs supported collaboration activities aimed at strengthening circular-economy discussions beyond Western Europe. This included participation in the Western Balkans webinar on Closing the Value Gap in Construction, as well as coordinating joint activities between cluster members, including the co-organisation of an EU Green Week ’25 Partner Event.
Cluster Member Meetings
Cluster member meetings facilitated by Future Needs have created space for networking, collaboration, and strategic discussions between participating organisations.
Such initiatives create trust between stakeholders. They improve knowledge transfer and help projects position their outcomes within wider European ecosystems.
They also contribute to stronger long-term exploitation and impact pathways beyond the duration of individual projects.
In many ways, clusters are becoming strategic assets. Not only because they increase visibility, but because they create the foundations for future collaboration, stronger proposal ecosystems, and more connected innovation communities capable of responding to increasingly interdisciplinary Horizon Europe priorities.
Clustering requires more than coordination. It requires facilitation, strategic communication, ecosystem thinking, and the ability to bring diverse stakeholders into meaningful conversations around shared challenges.
Because ultimately, circular construction is not only about transforming materials, technologies, or processes. It is about building the collaborative ecosystems capable of transforming the sector itself.
This article was prepared by Future Needs, Communication and Dissemination Leader of the RECONMATIC project and coordinator of the Circular Construction Cluster. Future Needs has extensive experience in facilitating clustering activities and building synergies across EU-funded projects to strengthen collaboration, knowledge exchange, and impact.
To learn more about the Cluster or connect with its community, contact egle@futureneeds.eu.
