Since April 2022, the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) has led the Innovate UK-funded DISRUPT project (Delivering Innovative Steel ReUse ProjecT), exploring the innovative reuse of structural steel in the construction industry.
Join us for an in-person event to hear more about the findings of the project, including presentations of steel reuse case studies, circular business models, and the launch of a new toolkit to support companies interested in entering the reuse sector, ultimately to achieve a greater supply of reused steel into the marketplace.
About the event
- Date: Wednesday 22nd March 2023
- Time: 18:00-20:00 (Registration from 17:30)
- Location: ISG Limited, Aldgate House, 33 Aldgate High Street, London, EC3N 1AG (Google Maps)
- Cost: Free, registration essential (spaces limited)
Presentations
Programme
17:30 Registration and welcome drinks
18:00 Welcome to the event
- Welcome from our event host and project partner: ISG – Peter Kelly, Group Director of Sustainable Operations, ISG
- Welcome from lead partner: ASBP – Katherine Adams, Technical Director, ASBP
- Welcome from the National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research (NICER) Programme – Amy Peace, Innovation Lead – Circular Economy, Innovate UK
18:15 Intro to DISRUPT – Asselia Katenbayeva, Research Associate, ASBP
18:30 Steel reuse case studies
- Short history of steel reuse and agricultural building case studies – Roy Fishwick, Managing Director, Cleveland Steel and Jonny Hawkshaw – Director & Co-founder, Simple Works
- Domestic refurbishment project – Philippa Birch-Wood, Thrive Director, Chetwoods
- Elephant & Castle redevelopment and Sloane Square House – Sally Walsh, Senior Engineer, WSP
19:00 Launch of toolkit – Katherine Adams, Technical Director, ASBP
19:15 Q&A
19:30 Drinks and networking
20:00 Close
About the project team
The DISRUPT project team is made up of steel reuse experts Cleveland Steel and Tubes Ltd, global construction company ISG and the National Federation of Demolition Contractors. Supporters of the project include the Grosvenor Group, one of the world’s largest privately-owned international property businesses.
Cleveland Steel and Tubes are one of the largest stockholders of repurposed steel tubes in Europe and have partnered ASBP on a number of circular research projects over the past 10 years, in addition to supporting the ASBP’s Reusable Products and Buildings Network.
About the project
Steel is one of the most widely used and resource intensive materials used in construction. Although commonly recycled at end of life, the reuse of steel is minimal despite the apparent environmental, carbon and circular economy benefits. The high value of steel at end of life can be realised by being reused in a wide range of construction applications.
Previous studies have shown that there are barriers to reuse including economic factors, supply chain issues, availability, and lack of demand. New business models are required to ensure that the benefits of steel reuse are accrued across the value chain and underpin the activities of existing and new actors.
DISRUPT seeks to address these challenges by bringing together the leading actors involved in steel construction reuse – client, contractor, and stockist, and those that will be particularly impacted by the transition from a recycling to a reuse model, such as demolition contractors.
A detailed feasibility study will be undertaken focusing on real life case studies which track the ‘journey’ of reused steel from start to finish, providing a rich data source covering different sizes and types of projects, and variability in geographical location across the UK.
The project will deliver new costed circular business models that can act as a blueprint for other companies interested in entering the reuse sector, ultimately to achieve a greater supply of reuse steel into the marketplace. If steel reuse is to become mainstream, it is imperative that new business models are profitable and equitable to the whole value chain, and that reused steel is readily available and easy to specify within construction projects.
DISRUPT aims to prove that steel reuse can have a major role to play in mitigating climate change.
With thanks to our funders and supporters
The project has received funding via Innovate UK’s Circular Economy for SMEs competition, in collaboration with the NICER programme, a four-year £30 million investment from UKRI consisting of one hub and five specialist research centres aiming to grow the circular economy community through a significant programme of outreach and collaboration. The project received a letter of support from the Interdisciplinary Centre for CircularMetal.
Find out more
For enquiries about the DISRUPT project, please contact Richard Broad, Project Manager – richard@asbp.org.uk.