In the face of the climate emergency, increasing pressure on resources and the need to fundamentally transform our production models, the construction sector can no longer afford inaction. In France, it alone accounts for nearly 23% of greenhouse gas emissions and generates more than 46 million tonnes of waste each year. These figures highlight both the scale of the sector’s impacts and its transformation potential: it is estimated that more than 80% of construction waste could have a second life, yet less than 1% is actually reused.
In this context, the reuse of construction products and materials is emerging as a key lever to reduce the environmental footprint of the built environment, while deeply rethinking its economic and operational models. Long focused primarily on recycling, the sector is now beginning a cultural shift. A reuse market is emerging, driven by committed players, but it remains fragile and uneven. To scale up, it must become more structured, professionalised and supported by resources commensurate with the challenges, as well as sustained mobilisation across the entire construction ecosystem.
In recent years, momentum has clearly accelerated. Legislative developments have created an incentive-based—sometimes constraining, but above all structuring—framework. Public and private stakeholders are increasingly taking ownership of the issue, gradually integrating reuse into procurement policies, development projects and contractual requirements. This momentum has led to the emergence of numerous initiatives, local platforms, specialised value chains and the first convincing feedback from the field.
However, the picture remains mixed. The maturity of reuse value chains is highly uneven. Some project owners have already developed ambitious approaches, systematically integrating reuse and securing their processes. Others remain at an experimental stage, held back by limited visibility of supply, technical or insurance uncertainties, or internal organisations that are not yet adapted. The same applies to designers, construction companies and suppliers: between highly advanced pioneers and more cautious actors, the market is evolving at different speeds.
The challenge today is no longer to prove that reuse is possible. It is to make it simple, reliable and desirable. Our collective ambition is clear: to enable new products and reused products to coexist sustainably in mainstream construction practices. Purchasing a reused product should be just as seamless, secure and understandable as purchasing a new one. This requires quality standards, sufficient volumes, controlled traceability and shared trust across the entire value chain.
Beyond reducing environmental impacts, the circular economy applied to construction is a genuine societal project. It helps reduce dependence on imports, secure supply chains, relocalise value creation within territories and contribute to the reindustrialisation of France. By rethinking buildings as resource stocks rather than waste stocks, we shift paradigms and strengthen industrial sovereignty.
To achieve this ambition, we must change both scale and method. The first prerequisite is mutualisation. Too often, each territory, project or actor reinvents its own tools, platforms and reference frameworks. This fragmentation undermines market clarity and slows adoption. Reducing the number of entry points, clarifying available solutions and pooling services are essential to optimise costs and make reuse economically attractive. Reuse will only become a lasting solution if it is competitive and predictable.
Market structuring is also a central issue. Project owners must consider their buildings as true material banks and will play a decisive role in the acceptance and prescription of reuse. Designers will be required to develop technically robust and aesthetically ambitious projects based on reused solutions, relying on reliable and well-documented offers.
Construction companies, for their part, will need to systematically integrate circular products where relevant, while deconstruction companies will have the key responsibility of capturing and reintroducing high-quality material flows onto the market. Finally, material suppliers must structure themselves to offer reconditioned products at scale, with controlled performance levels and competitive costs.
At Cyneo, we are convinced that cooperation, standardisation and trust are the keys to turning reuse from a virtuous approach into a reference practice. Organising and securing access to, sorting and management of reusable product streams is not merely a technical issue: it is a fundamental condition for sustainably transforming the construction sector and addressing the environmental, economic and industrial challenges ahead.
Sources
This article is a translated version. The original publication is available on Les Echos Solutions 👉 https://solutions.lesechos.fr/business/actu-entreprise/organiser-et-securiser-le-reemploi-une-condition-pour-le-passage-a-l-echelle/
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