Policy Brief: Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship 2025

February 2, 2026

Promoting Circular Economy: Development and Implementation of Dynamic Material Passports

Who is this aimed at

Halton Regional Council

Key messages

Reusing materials from deconstructed buildings can reduce greenhouse gases emissions by up to 37%.
Dynamic Material Passports (DMPs) offer a scalable digital solution for tracking and reusing construction materials.
Using emerging technologies like IoT and Digital Twins enables a smarter, faster, and more transparent path to a circular construction economy.
Circular construction in Halton will create jobs, reduce waste, and advance regional sustainability goals.

Policy options

Promote strategic partnerships between demolition, construction companies, architects and engineers.
Mandatory DMPs use in public sector projects.
Provide Incentives for private sector adoption

Evaluation Criteria

Environmental Impact
Feasibility of Implementation
Economic Return
Stakeholder Engagement Potential

Executive Summary

The construction industry consumes nearly 40 % of global resources and generates one-third of all waste each year (A TOP-DOWN ASSESSMENT OF GHG EMISSIONS IN CANADA'S CONSTRUCTION SECTOR, 2023), which significantly impacts the environment contributing to approximately 37% of global greenhouse gases emissions (The World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2024). In Halton Region, lack of efficient demolition practices and material tracking results in the loss of valuable materials that could be reused instead of ending up in landfills.

By creating and adopting Dynamic Material Passports (DMPs), the environmental impact of construction can be significantly reduced. Using various computational tools, DMPs provide a digital solution for tracking and managing building materials throughout their life cycle, promoting smart deconstruction, material reuse, and circularity.

Our proposal recommends a hybrid strategy: mandate DMP use in municipal building projects as a pilot program to establish best practices, while incentivize adoption in the private sector. This approach strengthens the regional market for reused materials and represents a significant step forward on the path to sustainability.

From Waste to Opportunity: The Urgency of Circular Construction in Halton

The Halton Region is the fastest growing area in Canada, facing increasing pressure to expand its housing and commercial infrastructure. As a result, demand for construction materials continues to rise, despite growing environmental concerns.

At the same time traditional demolition practices in Halton result in the loss of large quantities of reusable materials. Rather than recovering valuable resources, buildings are torn down and sent to landfills. As is common in Ontario, much of this construction waste is then exported further increasing emissions and costs associated with the material.

Shifting from demolition to intentional deconstruction and reuse is not only pressing, but also a strategic move with economic and environmental benefits. By utilizing reclaimed materials, Halton lowers greenhouse gas emissions and promotes a more circular and resilient approach to urban development.

Policy Gaps and Opportunities for Circular Construction in Halton

Ontario’s construction industry has long operated under a linear model: extract raw materials, build, demolish, and discard them. In rapidly growing regions like Halton, this pattern has become increasingly unsustainable. Shrinking landfill capacity, rising material demand, and growing environmental pressures highlight the need for change. Yet, the policy framework remains outdated and unprepared to support circular construction.

At the provincial level, Ontario currently lacks consistent policies to support material reuse, digital tracking, or low-carbon construction practices. While frameworks like the Toronto Green Standard offer a strong example of green design leadership, their scope is limited to the city and do not extend to municipalities like Halton or others across the province. This absence of province-wide regulations creates a significant policy gap leading to missed opportunities for emissions reduction, circular innovation, cost savings, and conservation of valuable construction materials. Establishing standardized policies at the provincial level, inspired by successful local initiatives, could unlock large-scale environmental and economic benefits.

Dynamic Material Passports (DMPs) present a scalable, digital solution. These tools allow for real-time tracking and inventory of building components, enabling smarter deconstruction, resource recovery, and lifecycle planning (Ahmad et al., 2025). By adopting DMPs early, Halton can lead the province in implementing circular practices and prepare for an inevitable shift in regulatory expectations.

Many readers may not know what a DMP is as it is a very novel concept. A DMP is the result of combining a digital twin and a Material Passport. A Digital Twin (DTs) is essentially a digital copy of something that exists in a simulation, tracking and modeling everything that happens to the real-world asset (What Is Digital-twin Technology?, 2024). Digital twins can help with monitoring efficiency and sustainability of the asset through its lifetime. Twins are created and maintained by private companies like Microsoft, etc.

Material Passports are a database comprising all the building materials in a structure. It is similar to a bill of materials in that they both contain information about materials, but material passports contain a host of information that makes it fundamentally different from a bill of materials. MPs focus on material reuse and the promotion of environmentally sustainable building practices. Tracking materials age and quality is another aspect of the technology.

Combining the two technologies yields a Dynamic Material Passport. A DMP has all of the abilities of DTs and MPs, promoting green building practices and simulating building health ensuring it functions efficiently and in a sustainable manner.

Quantifying the Impact: Research on Waste, Emissions, and Circularity

The environmental impact of the construction industry is well documented. It consumes nearly 40% of global resources and is responsible for about one-third of total carbon emissions, with concrete alone contributing 8% (The World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2024). In this context, Dynamic Material Passports (DMPs) are emerging as a promising solution to improve traceability and promote circularity in the built environment.

Recent studies and pilot projects across Europe show that DMPs enable the identification, cataloguing, and reuse of materials at the end of a building’s life cycle. When coupled with tools like photogrammetry, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality, DMPs facilitate selective deconstruction and creative repurposing of non- standard materials (What Is Digital-twin Technology?, 2024). For example, reusing concrete can reduce associated emissions by up to 37%. It will require creativity and the help of artificial intelligence tools but a future in which nearly all materials in a structure are able to be reused is not impossible.

Our research also draws from expert lectures on material passports as well as deconstruction and reuse practices. These insights highlight that, although still under development, DMPs offer municipalities a realistic pathway to reduce waste while extending material lifespans and strengthening local circular economies.

From Demolition to Deconstruction: Strategic Pathways Toward Circular Construction

To promote a shift toward circular construction in the Halton Region, three key policy options have been considered. The first involves fostering strategic partnerships between demolition companies, construction firms, architects, and engineers. These alliances would facilitate early- stage planning for selective deconstruction, ensuring that materials are carefully dismantled, efficiently transported, and promptly reintegrated into new construction projects. The benefits include reduced greenhouse gas emissions, job creation in local logistics and processing, and the strengthening of the secondary materials market. However, it presents challenges such as the need for effective communication among contractors and transportation as well as logistical costs and technical coordination to safeguard reusable material integrity.

The second option proposes mandating the use of Dynamic Material Passports (DMPs) in all new and renovated municipal buildings. This would serve as an institutional pilot program to test, refine, and standardize the DMP model while demonstrating public sector leadership. Its benefits include capacity building, data generation, and setting a precedent for private sector uptake. However, this approach also entails significant upfront investment, workforce training on emerging digital tools, potential supply chain disruptions, and the ongoing cost of maintaining a digital DMP platform.

Maintaining this platform involves several key components: secure cloud storage for material data, continuous software updates, cybersecurity protocols to protect sensitive building information, and technical support services for multiple government departments. The most substantial cost stems from creating and updating the Digital Twin—the foundation of the DMP system.

While a basic software license may cost between 800 and 1,100 CAD, building a scalable and integrated platform suitable for public-sector use is estimated between 100,000 and 123,000 CAD (Thomas, 2024b). For more information, refer to Table [1] in the appendix. Additional hardware and software tools are required to digitize construction assets effectively. These include high-resolution cameras (680 CAD), a structured- light 3D scanner (Polyga V1, ~16,500 CAD), computational design software like Rhinoceros 3D with Grasshopper (1,500 CAD), and robot programming tools like KUKA software (600 CAD) for automated sorting or placement (Zboinska & Göbel, 2024c). For more information, refer to Table [2] in the appendix.

Altogether, the estimated investment ranges from 123,000 to 143,000 CAD, covering both system setup and the core equipment needed to enable real-time updates and modeling. Over time, additional maintenance costs may arise from platform upgrades, data management, and expanding coverage across multiple municipal buildings. Despite these costs, such investment creates a digital infrastructure that supports long-term sustainability, transparency, and circularity across the Halton Region’s construction ecosystem (Thomas, 2024c).

The third option focuses on encouraging voluntary DMP adoption in private developments by offering policy incentives such as tax breaks or grants. This approach helps distribute transition costs, attracts early adopters, and allows flexible uptake. However, relying on market willingness could lead to uneven implementation, and without clear technical guidance, DMP systems may be misused or poorly maintained. Considering all three strategies, a hybrid approach combining mandatory public-sector implementation, private-sector incentives, and strategic technical partnerships offers the most feasible and scalable path toward transforming Halton’s construction industry into a more sustainable one.

Strategic Pathways to Circular Construction

To translate circular construction from concept to practice, Halton Region must take coordinated and strategic steps to implement Dynamic Material Passports (DMPs) and foster a more circular built environment:

Develop a Regional Digital Circular Materials Platform: Halton should support the creation or adaptation of an online platform where reclaimed materials registered through DMPs can be catalogued, stored (when not immediately needed), and traded locally. This tool would connect contractors, architects, and public buyers with verified reusable. components, reducing resource extraction and strengthening regional material flows.
Launch a Municipal Pilot Program for DMPs: Local governments should initiate a pilot by implementing DMPs in select municipal buildings undergoing renovation or demolition. This will involve soft stripping and manual deconstruction to recover valuable materials and digitally catalog them. Demonstrating cost-effectiveness, emissions reductions, and successful material recovery at the public level will set a strong precedent for private sector adoption.
Establish Local Incentives for Private Sector Participation: Regional authorities should collaborate with provincial partners to design and deliver incentives, such as tax credits, grants, and fast-track permitting for developers who voluntarily adopt DMPs. Additionally, green certifications and zoning bonuses could encourage builders to incorporate circular practices. These measures would offset initial costs and stimulate market demand for reused materials.

Transformative Effects on Halton’s

Implementing Dynamic Material Passports (DMPs) across Halton’s construction sector would generate meaningful environmental and operational improvements. By enabling material traceability and reuse, the region can reduce its reliance on raw material extraction, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and significantly extend the lifespan of local landfills. These actions support more efficient and sustainable construction practices, aligning with broader goals for responsible resource use and urban resilience.

Additionally, establishing a regional digital platform and formalizing the deconstruction processes would modernize Halton’s infrastructure, stimulate innovation, and improve material supply chains, especially valuable amid rising demand and shrinking landfill capacity. This transition also supports global efforts such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 9, 11, and 12. Target 9.2 aims to promote sustainable development and increase the GDP through building. Target 11.6 is to reduce the environmental impact of cities per person including paying attention to waste management, DMPs help mitigate waste production by assigning value to material that would be otherwise trash. 11.b is resource efficiency and preventing climate disaster. By using less new materials, there is strain on the natural environment helping to prevent climate disaster. Target 12.2 is to manage natural resources efficiently, and 12.5 is to reuse and recycle old building materials. These two goals are at the heart of what a DMP is and what it can do for the environment.

If implemented strategically, this approach could position Halton as a reference point for other Canadian municipalities, demonstrating how circular construction can deliver tangible economic and environmental benefits without compromising growth.

Conclusions and Call to Action

As the Halton Region continues to expand, so does the urgency to build smarter, more sustainably, and more responsibly. The traditional “build-demolish-discard” model is no longer a viable option in the face of today’s environmental, economic, and social challenges.

Dynamic Material Passports (DMPs) offer a practical, forward-looking solution that enables traceable reuse of materials, fosters innovation, and unlocks new economic opportunities. By implementing a hybrid strategy combining mandatory public-sector adoption, private- sector incentives, and strategic partnerships Halton can take immediate action to reshape its built environment toward a circular future.

We call not only on the Halton Regional Council, but also on construction firms, demolition companies, architects, engineers, and residents to recognize the urgency of the problem and the transformative potential of this solution. Embracing this shift will benefit the environment and reduce costs, positioning Halton as a national leader in smart and sustainable development.

Authors

Zenén Guillermina Ajuria Díaz

Biotechnology Engineering

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Ghalia Yousif Murad Ahmed

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Khalifa University

Micah Alan Borg

General Engineering

Harvey Mudd College

References

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Thomas, D. S. (2024). Economics of Digital Twins: https://doi.org/10.6028/nist.ams.100-61

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Zboinska, M. A., & Göbel, F. (2024c). Digital tool integrations for architectural reuse of salvaged building materials. Automation In Construction, 170, 105947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2024.105947 stock dynamics into economy-wide Material Flow Accounting: Concepts, modelling, and global application for 1900–2050. Ecological Economics, 156, 121–133.

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Additional Resources

Cao, R., Hao, Y., Li, Y., & Liao, W. (2025). Emerging trends in lifecycle assessment of building construction for greenhouse gas control: implications for capacity building. Deleted Journal, 7(5). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-

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Fivet, C. (2025). Reuse and Structural Applications. Zurich; Switzerland.

McKinsey & Company. (2024, August 26). What is digital-twin technology? McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-