Colruyt Group

Large and small circular building initiatives

Colruyt Group owns a large building stock and is a pioneer in the field of sustainability. With this pioneering role, it wants to contribute to the pursuit of a circular economy by 2050. Within the Green Deal Circular Building, Colruyt Group wants to commit to combating the waste of materials. The group wants to replace the use of primary raw materials as much as possible by reusing existing materials and by recycling raw materials that are released in demolition and dismantling works.
They have several projects running around this, internally or in cooperation with external partners. A selection of the most important initiatives:

• Together with VITO and OVAM, Colruyt Group is extending the Totem Tool with building materials that they already use today (non-residential use) but that were not yet processed in the Totem database,
• study and test project to see how they can better recycle and possibly reuse aerated concrete, concrete, asphalt, roofing materials, insulation materials and refrigerator wall panels,
• testing various circularly designed building materials: façade construction, internal walls, floor elements, etc.
• search for alternative raw materials for board material, such as organic waste, organic harvest material (grasses, flowers, etc.), coconut shells and rice husks.

In addition, there are also many smaller initiatives within the group concerning recycling. Because every little bit helps and many small ones make a big one. Here are a few examples:

• reuse of canteen tables and chairs by giving them a new coat of paint,
• reusing non-food grids as a structure to allow greenery to climb up the façade,
• During renovations of Colruyt branches: reuse of various materials (for example: cable ducts, racks after reconditioning, trolley stands); and donating materials to local associations, non-profit organisations, etc. (for example: washbasins, etc.).

You will find more information in these articles on the Colruyt Group website:
- Sustainable building 
- Circular building 
- Three questions about the Green Deal Circular Building