The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) is launching a new campaign to encourage greater reuse of building materials within the construction industry and accelerate the transition to a more resource efficient, circular economy.
Around 60 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste is created annually in the UK. Whilst much of this is recovered and recycled, only a small percentage is reused. Material reuse can substantially reduce the need for new products, and their associated embodied carbon emissions. Estimates suggest that 22.3 MtCO2e of GHG emissions could be saved over 9 years by increasing our reuse of construction products.
‘Reuse Now’ is supported by lead sponsor and long-standing ASBP patron member Cleveland Steel and Tubes, with additional support from circular economy experts Reusefully. Planned activities for the campaign include knowledge-sharing webinars, new reuse case studies, freely available and topical briefing papers and factsheets, regular blogs and thought pieces, and networking events. To reflect the ASBP’s diverse membership and maximise impact, the campaign will focus on a wide range of materials and applications, and also technical solutions which can aid reuse.
The campaign builds upon the ASBP-led DISRUPT project, which is exploring the innovative reuse of structural steel in construction through the creation and adoption of new circular business models. Project partners and supporters include reuse stalwarts Cleveland Steel & Tubes, global construction specialist ISG, National Federation of Demolition Contractors, and Grosvenor, the world’s largest privately-owned international property business.
ASBP has been working on the topic of material reuse for nearly 10 years, with past activities including the Re-Fab House feasibility study, research with University of Cambridge identifying the barriers to structural steel reuse, and more recently, a sold-out Reuse Summit.
This previous experience is further enhanced with in-house expertise from Technical Director Dr. Katherine Adams and Research Associate Dr. Asselya Katenbayeva, who bring 25+ years of academic and industry-focussed research and development on the topics of waste, reuse and circular economy.
The campaign will officially launch on 29th September at an online event showcasing learnings from the Entopia building, the ‘new’ HQ of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. The ground-breaking refurbishment project meets EnerPHit and BREEAM Outstanding standards, as well as championing low carbon bio-based materials and material reuse.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for organisations seeking to support the campaign in its aim of enabling a more resource efficient built environment. For more information, please contact Richard Broad, Projects & Communications Manager, ASBP – richard@asbp.org.uk.