Pre-refurbishment/renovation or pre-demolition audits ("waste audits")

Pre-refurbishment/renovation or pre-demolition audits, sometimes known as "waste audits", are commissioned to evaluate recovery and waste management options resulting from the anticipated construction activities.

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In ideal conditions, pre-refurbishment/renovation or pre-demolition audits should be performed before the call for tenders or choosing the contractor. This can prevent companies responsible for work from being at risk of additional unforeseen costs, such as, for instance, the handling of hazardous materials not identified before commissioning the work.

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Such audits include:

• the amount and type of construction material/products that will be deconstructed/demolished;

• an assessment of possible reuse or recycling of the above considering all relevant legislation;

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In this step, any risks related to handling hazardous substances should be identified.

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• additional information (if needed) on, for example, the estimated value of materials/products for reuse or the estimated waste handling costs.

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So far, there is no standardised way of performing pre-refurbishment/renovation or pre-demolition audits in the Nordics or the EU. More information on "waste audits" in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden can be found here.

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General steps in "waste audits"

Step 1: Decision on the audit scope

• before starting the audit, the decision on the work (refurbishment/demolition) scope must be made (i.e., what part of the building will be involved in the work);

• specify the goals regarding resource management (i.e., targets on reuse and recycling of materials and products and (if applicable) their possible use in other projects);

• specify additional requirements for the audit, such as, for example, the estimated value of materials/products for reuse or the estimated costs of waste handling depending on the route of their utilisation.

Step 2: Desk research

Step 3: Field visit

Step 4: Material and product inventory

Step 5: Recommendations on resource management

Step 6: Reporting

Sources and further readings:

1)    EU Construction & Demolition Waste Management Protocol including guidelines for pre-demolition and pre-renovation audits of construction works, 2024.

2)    M. Wahlström et al., Pre-demolition audit - overall guidance document, 2019.

3)    G. Brusa Cattaneo G et al. Circular Construction for Urban Development, 2024.

4)    Level(s) indicator 2.2: Construction and Demolition waste and materials User manual: introductory briefing, instructions and guidance (Publication version 1.1), 2021.

5)    M. Wahlström et al., Improving quality of construction & demolition waste- Requirements for pre-demolition audit, 2019.