Material passports: the key to carbon reduction, greater component reuse and more sustainable construction

By Thomas Lane2025-01-14T07:00:00

Logging the details of the products and materials used on projects so they can have a second life after demolition has been discussed but never practised on a large London construction project – until now, Thomas Lane reports

Construction produces 68 million tonnes of demolition waste a year, 30% of the UK’s total. While 92% of this waste is recovered, most of it is downcycled to products of a lesser value. So reusing rather than downcycling materials could significantly reduce the industry’s carbon emissions.

As buildings become much more energy efficient and with the welcome focus on reducing upfront embodied carbon, the reuse of materials from demolished buildings is now the new front line for construction’s carbon reduction efforts. Forward-thinking developers are already reusing materials on projects to cut their carbon footprint – and this is a good marketing tool too.

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