The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products has relaunched its Reuse Now campaign to support construction’s move towards circular economy strategies and carbon reduction
Globally, we are not on track to reduce carbon emissions; the overall trajectory to 2050 is still upwards.
At the UK Construction Week exhibition in October, there was a poster on the Zero stand that said: “If you work in engineering, construction or anything in the built environment sector, you have a responsibility to sustainability far greater than the average person. Buying a reusable coffee cup isn’t enough if you have the ability to influence what we build, and how it affects our world.”
Given the construction industry accounts for over a third of global carbon emissions and produces around 60m tonnes of construction and demolition waste annually in the UK, we have our work cut out.
Wastage rates for materials on construction sites due to, for example, damage and over-ordering can be up to 15%.
Approximately 100,000 light fittings are removed/get skipped every week (according to Recolight), some from Category A (the basic fit-out of a commercial building) strip-outs where the lights have perhaps been turned on only a handful of times.
While most of these and other “surplus resources” that get skipped are diverted from landfill, they are often downcycled with only a small proportion being reused; moreover, some materials may end up being sent for incineration.
Disheartening statistics to read but moving away from these hugely wasteful practices presents a big opportunity to reduce embodied carbon emissions, as well as increase efficiencies and cost savings.
According to organisations including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the UK Green Building Council and the United Nations, circular economy strategies and practices – such as reuse – are crucial to hitting carbon reduction targets and mitigating further climate change.
Strictly defined reuse is the use of products or components more than once for the same, or other purposes, without reprocessing (ISO 20887, 2020), but other terms that encompass reuse are remanufacture, refurbishment, repair and reclamation/salvage. At a building level, the refurbishment of a building is reuse.
While the task ahead may feel “big, hairy and audacious” there are many organisations and initiatives that have made great inroads regarding the adoption of circular economy strategies to mitigate climate change and reduce carbon emissions.
Reuse Now
As part of their work to support the sector on circular economy practice and carbon emissions reduction, the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) has relaunched their Reuse Now campaign, which kickstarted with the Reuse Summit on 18 October.
The aims of the campaign are to increase the supply and demand of reused products in the construction industry, to drive positive environmental and economic impacts and accelerate the transition to a more resource efficient, low carbon, circular economy.
The Reuse Now campaign aims to drive change in the built environment sector by:
Raising awareness across the supply chain about the significant environmental benefits of reusing building products, including waste reduction, carbon reduction and economic benefits.
Sharing knowledge through practical, interactive workshops, events and online resources.
Fostering collaboration with stakeholders from across industry to build a robust network that ensures the availability and accessibility of high-quality reused products – including Deep Dive workstreams, where for each identified agreed product, the team will bring the relevant supply chain together to get into the detail of specific pinch points that prevent or obstruct reuse and endeavour to create solutions.
Showcasing success stories that have successfully embraced the reuse of products in construction projects and proven that lower carbon supply chain models not only benefit the environment but also offer economic advantages and innovative design possibilities.
“Through the Reuse Now campaign, we aim to support the construction industry to deliver practical, feasible solutions that will accelerate the reuse of materials,” said Debbie Ward, the Reuse Now campaign lead at ASBP.
“By encouraging the specification and installation of reused products, we can significantly reduce our carbon emissions and move closer towards a circular economy.”
The Reuse Now campaign builds upon two ASBP-led projects, DISRUPT I (complete) and DISRUPT II (current), which explore innovative ways to reuse structural steel in construction through the creation and adoption of new circular business models.
DISRUPT I hosted successful events and produced case studies, such as the Entopia Building and Holbein Gardens, and the Steel Reuse Toolkit, highlighting organisations at the forefront of reuse and showcasing the potential of lower carbon construction practices.
The ASBP cannot undertake all the work they do without industry backing and sponsorship. Reuse Now is supported by Gold sponsor and longstanding ASBP patron member Cleveland Steel and Tubes, and Bronze sponsors Reusefully, Optima and Excess Materials Exchange. All four organisations are driving change by actively demonstrating how reuse can increase resource efficiency and decrease carbon emissions.
A survey is currently open to all in the industry, the results of which will be used to inform the direction and priorities of the Reuse Now future activities.
To learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved, including sponsorship, please visit https://asbp.org.uk/workstream/reuse-now or contact Debbie Ward at debbie.ward@asbp.org.uk.
Debbie Ward
Reuse Now campaign lead
Alliance for Sustainable Building Products
Tel: +44 (0) 330 355 6275
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