Making industry-owned, open, and quality-assured sustainability data accessible to the market.

Byggmaterialhandlarna and BASTA launch a strategic partnership

Published 09 Jun 2026

At a time when transparency, digitalisation, automation and sustainability are high on the agenda, Byggmaterialhandlarna and BASTA are taking a major step forward. A strategic partnership is now being launched to make industry-owned and open sustainability data accessible to the building materials trade, with the aim of ensuring the right data is available where decisions are made.

Monica Björk, Chief Executive Officer of Byggmaterialhandlarna, and Pehr Hård, Chief Executive Officer of BASTA

BASTA is Sweden’s open, industry-owned database that compiles and quality-assures sustainability data related to the phase-out of hazardous substances, climate impact, circularity and more. It also includes assessments of compliance with requirements from external systems and certifications, providing the entire industry with a transparent decision-making basis aligned with established frameworks such as the EU Taxonomy and Miljöbyggnad.

Byggmaterialhandlarna is the industry association representing several major chains as well as around thirty independent building materials merchants across Sweden. The sector employs approximately 21,000 people and generates revenues exceeding SEK 110 billion. Digitalisation and sustainability are two of our key focus areas.

Through BASTA’s data being made available via GS1 Sweden directly to Byggmaterialhandlarna’s members, the trade gains access to decision support for both procurement and product selection. The implementation will take place as GS1 launches its services for Byggmaterialhandlarna’s members. This enables merchants to offer more comprehensive and reliable data, and to build robust decision-support tools aligned with requirements from certification systems such as Miljöbyggnad and BREEAM, as well as regulations including the EU Taxonomy, REACH and CSRD (sustainability reporting requirements). All of this is delivered through an industry-owned, transparent and open platform.

- Our members in the trade play a key role in helping customers choose products that are suited to their projects and client requirements. Through our collaboration with BASTA, we can now actively use this decision support directly in customer interactions, as well as in fully digital systems where customers make their own selections and place orders. This type of collaboration is an important step in our digitalisation journey and in the development of our sustainability efforts, says Monica Björk, CEO of Byggmaterialhandlarna.

- Making manufacturers’ data available in more places through this partnership is fully in line with BASTA’s purpose. It will lead to significant efficiencies in product selection and procurement, and makes it easier for the entire building materials trade to access the data that customers need. At the same time, decision-makers are relieved from having to navigate the complexities of different requirements and certification systems, concludes Pehr Hård, CEO of BASTA.