Whenever we build, we excavate soil. It is a routine part of construction, but also an issue that deserves far more attention than it currently receives. Soil is a valuable natural resource and should not be regarded as an inexhaustible reserve. Yet usable excavated materials continue to be sent to disposal sites while equivalent materials are extracted from untouched ground to serve the needs of other construction projects.

I see a clear contradiction in this. The surplus material from one construction site could be exactly what another site needs. Gravel, sand, till and other soil materials are not waste. They are valuable, non-renewable natural resources. However, surplus materials and demand do not meet often enough because construction sites typically lack visibility into each other's excess materials and material requirements.

We have only one planet and one soil resource base. We cannot continue extracting materials indefinitely. 

According to the Finnish Environment Institute, Finland uses approximately 120 to 140 million tonnes of soil and rock aggregates every year. Of this volume, 60 percent is extracted from previously untouched ground. The scale is enormous.

On construction sites, surplus excavated materials often end up without a viable destination. At the same time, similar materials may be needed elsewhere, leading to the extraction of new resources from nature. Both surplus materials and newly excavated materials are frequently transported over long distances. This increases emissions and costs while consuming natural resources in a way that should no longer be considered acceptable practice.

We have only one planet and one soil resource base. We cannot continue extracting materials indefinitely. That is why we must make better use of the materials we already have. This is not only an environmental imperative but also a financially sound way of working.

The circular economy of excavated materials is not only a Finnish issue. We possess expertise that can help improve resource efficiency in construction far beyond Finland's borders.

In my role as Director of Sustainable Project Management, I have witnessed the industry's evolution and worked to advance the circular use of excavated materials within the construction sector. At Sitowise, our team has developed a digital mass coordination tool that is, to the best of our knowledge, unique in the world. Progress has certainly been made, but accelerating the circular economy of excavated materials still requires stronger collaboration across the industry.

Advancing the circular use of excavated materials requires both cooperation and the right tools. When there is a genuine willingness to act, working together can take circularity in construction projects to an entirely new level.

The economic benefits can be substantial. I have worked with excavated materials in several Finnish municipalities and construction projects. In one city, we achieve annual savings worth millions of euros through a combination of practical measures and a tool that supports mass coordination. These are direct savings for the municipality.

In addition to saving natural resources and reducing costs, mass coordination can lower construction-related emissions by reducing the need to transport excavated materials from one location to another. Fewer truck movements also help municipalities and governments move closer to their climate targets.

The circular economy of excavated materials is not only a Finnish issue. Construction projects are continuously underway across the Nordic region and around the world, and the challenges related to excavated materials are fundamentally the same everywhere. Economic drivers and climate ambitions are increasing the need for further development in this field.

That is why I believe Finnish expertise represents a significant opportunity. The market for our tools and know-how is effectively global, and international interest is already emerging. We possess expertise that can help improve resource efficiency in construction far beyond Finland's borders.