The European Society of Construction Law (ESCL) is an ‘umbrella’ organisation for eighteen national construction law societies in Europe. The longest tradition of ESCL activity has been the Annual Conference, which is hosted by the country of the President of the year in question. In 2019 prof. mr. dr. M.A.B. Chao-Duivis was president of the ESCL and the conference took place in the Netherlands. The organisation of the conference decided to take Dutch examples of legal developments and implications in the field of circularity as a starting point for discussions. The representatives of the countries were asked questions such as: what do you think is right or wrong about these Dutch examples? What do you do in your country regarding circularity. What would you like to teach your fellow members in the ESCL? And what can we learn from each other about this huge societal problem? These questions resulted in a questionnaire, compiled by prof. mr. dr. M.A.B. Chao-Duivis.

This publication contains the responses to the questionnaire submitted by the Netherlands, to which several Dutch experts contributed. Furthermore, Switzerland submitted an article on sustainability in public procurement and construction in Switzerland in order to provide the reader a ‘look over the horizon’. For more information on the background of the theme, a list of relevant publications concerning circularity is included in the back is this publication.