Sustainable Biz #5 - Magazine - Page 52
Mace calls for
circularity of construction
M
ace is calling for London to become
the circular construction capital
of the world, as it recommends
that circular economy principles are
incentivised and embedded across the
building lifecycle.
The international consultancy and
construction company published the call
in the report, ‘Closing the Circle’, which
looks at the true potential of reusing
and recycling construction materials
– instead of allowing it to go to waste.
Despite making significant changes
to construction practices to reduce
carbon emissions across the sector,
the construction industry globally still
accounts for 40% of carbon emissions and
over 50% of raw material use. With global
cities responsible for the vast majority of
construction waste, the report focuses
on the opportunity for London - and
specifically for the City of London where,
in the decade to 2021, construction and
demolition activities generated 1.54
million tonnes of identifiable waste. The
report claims that the UK capital is the
ideal place to build the world’s first true
circular construction economy due to
its highly innovative construction firms,
developers and occupiers with a keen
interest in sustainability and with planning
authorities already promoting circularity
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practices. A circular construction economy
is one where the use of resources and
waste is minimised through ‘reducing,
reusing and recycling’ – targeting a
reduction in the use of raw materials,
and finding new and innovative methods
to recycle and directly reuse waste
materials where possible. In a bid to
reduce the use of virgin materials used
in construction, the report recommends
a number of recommendations to put
London in a leading position in the global
circular construction economy: Develop
physical and virtual ‘circularity material
banks’ that enable smaller companies
to take advantage of materials produced
elsewhere in the industry.
Introduce ‘materials passports’ that
track the source of materials within the
supply chain and enable easier re-use,an
approach that digitally catalogues the
materials and components used within
a building to promote easier reuse at
the end of the buildings’ lifespan. Bring
industry and government together to
build a credible circularity accreditation
scheme to allow clients, investors and
contractors to demonstrate the value of
their commitment to circularity.
‘Closing the Circle’ claims that if the
currently linear model is successfully
transformed into a circular model, then it
would be worth over £1.25bn to London’s
S USTAI N AB L E B I Z MAGAZINE
MAY 2024
construction industry over the next ten
years – with more than 13.8m million
tonnes of materials and components
prevented from going to waste; the
equivalent to 11m tonnes of CO₂ saved.
The report also calls on the regulation of
circularity, potentially through a legislative
mandate, and to financially incentivise
through a reduction in Section 106
requirements where circular practices
are adopted. James Low, Global Head of
Responsible Business at Mace, said:
“We must be able to deliver
zero embodied carbon
buildings and infrastructure
within our lifetimes, and we
believe that the transition
to a circular economy
is amongst the most
important innovations and
system changes required to
achieve that."
James Low,
Head of Responsible
Business
