Circular economy strategies and practices play a vital part in reducing embodied carbon

With an increasing amount of pressure both ethically and legislatively to reduce the carbon footprint of our buildings, we have to look beyond operational carbon and ensure embodied carbon is fully considered as part of the whole-life carbon calculation and reduction strategy. Debbie Ward (AIEMA) explains how reuse within circular economy practices plays an important role in reducing embodied carbon.

Circular economy strategies and practices play a vital part in reducing embodied carbon. From the business case onwards, we should be adhering to the hierarchy of Rethink - Refuse - Reduce - Reuse - Repair - Refurbish - Remanufacture - Repurpose - Recycle - Recover Energy and Re-mine. This change in the process creates a shift away from business as usual and pushes the supply chain from investors and developers to fit out contractors and beyond to explore different concepts, sources, and/or material choices.

We need to be asking the right questions to better understand our options and be able to make informed - low/zero carbon - decisions. For example, two steel sections may be functionally the same but with very different carbon footprints. The assumption of them both being recycled steel may be correct, but where/ how were they recycled? Was one exported for processing and reimported with the other processed in the UK? Was the recycling process of the sections done using an electric arc furnace or a blast furnace? Could one steel section have been sourced from the deconstruction of an existing building and therefore have significantly lower embodied carbon?

From informal conversations to connecting and collaborating through formal procurement processes, there are a number of levers to increase reuse and encourage internal teams and suppliers to consider how the specification of reused materials and products can be incorporated into tender responses and project delivery.

The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) has undertaken a number of projects around the reuse agenda, most recently focussing on steel through the completed DISRUPT I and current DISRUPT II Innovate UK-funded studies. IEMA hosted a webinar with ASBP in July to show how to use the toolkit and hear more about its key features from partners involved in the DISRUPT project.

We are also reigniting our Reuse Now campaign with the intent to drive the uptake of reuse in the construction industry and become the ‘go-to’ source of information for materials reuse in the sector.

As part of the campaign, the ASBP is hosting a Reuse Summit jointly with the Finishes & Interiors Sector (FIS) on the 18th of October at ISG’s offices in London. More information about the Summit is available on our website.

Please note: the views expressed in this blog are those of the individual contributing member and are not necessarily representative of the views of IEMA or any professional institutions with which IEMA is associated.