Spec Finish

BAMB (Buildings As Material Banks 3 ) was key in raising awareness of this topic. The concept of circular economy is essentially about moving from a linear approach to finding ways of doing more with less. The diagram below is used by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to illustrate the principles of circular economy: Circular economy in the construction industry could be about adaptability to increase buildings’ expected life, upcycling or reusing products, reducing the amount of “new” products in a building, ensuring the products will keep their value in time, etc. A number of projects have focused on identifying indicators to measure circularity, such as the EU funded CIRCuIT 4 project or the LETI circular economy primer. Embodied carbon measurement sits alongside a circular economy approach and indicators and can help validate (or not) that the circular decisions made have led to a positive impact. As the cost of energy andmaterials increases, the business case for amore circular approach is becomingmore relevant. The FIS launched its reuse initiative in February 2022. The aimof the initiative is to identify ways to increase the amount of reused products in the industry. It is about keeping the value of products taken out of existing buildings through demolition or refurbishment projects for longer and identifying routes to reuse those in new projects. Cost is obviously of importance, but the contractors recognise that carbon reductions can also be of benefit as they might help with reputation, meeting carbon targets, or might fit within the contractors’ net zero plan and commitments. The UKGBC recently published a report to show that circular economy solutions can also lead to carbon reductions. The aim of the report was to 5 : • “Increase understandingwithin the real estate sector of howcircular economy principles can support whole life carbon reductions, and where theremay be potential trade-offs; and • Provide greater clarity on how circular economy may be valued in relation to the whole life carbon impacts of the building by translating these outcomes into financial and other value metrics” The report provides a summary of a number of projects that highlight how the reuse of part of the buildings can lead to extensive carbon savings. For example, it highlights that the reuse of the sub and superstructure can lead to 50% of embodied carbon. It also gives examples of the reuse of finishes, such as carpet tiles which can lead to significant savings – the Bank of England saved 337.5 tCO2eq through the use of the CollectEco scheme. Other examples, include 10 George Street, Edinburgh – an office space where 100% raised access floor panels were retained and 70% ceiling tiles reused 6 . Main contractor ISG has been leading the way in identifying ways to reuse products rather than buy new ones. The refurbishment of a 1930s telephone exchange into the new home of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) was obviously going to be exploring more sustainable practices and demonstrate that it could be done at a competitive price 7 . They targeted a very high level of performance: BREEAM outstanding, Passivhaus EnerPHit classic standard, and WELL gold standard. The results show 35% cut in heat loss, 15% energy requirements of the original building and over 62 tonnes of embodied carbon avoided (related to construction materials). ISG was involved in this project and worked to find ways to reuse products. In particular, they managed to identify and reuse: • 3.79 tonnes of steel on the roof top which led to a saving of two tonnes of CO 2 eq • 350 LED lights – they identified the original manufacturer, which re-warrantied the lights and made the necessary changes to meet the requirements of the new space. This was a first for the manufacturer. • The reception desk – which was also readjusted by the manufacturer to fit the requirements to fit the need of the new space As the drive to reduce the operational and embodied carbon of buildings to achieve net zero accelerates, the demand for using more reusedmaterials increases. The Greater London Authority (GLA) requires that all referable projects within the Greater London area carry out an embodied carbon assessment and also provide an account of the quantities of recycled and reused products used 8 . The GLA also requires that circular economy statements 9 are created as part of the planning application process. Those statements sit alongside embodied carbon assessment and need to include, amongst other things, a pre-demolition (or pre-strip out) audit and demonstrate circular economy targets and commitments. Pre-demolition (or pre- strip out) audits are non-destructive and can help identify the quantities of materials that will become available. The auditor should also be able tomake recommendations on the quality of the products and their suitability for recyclability or reusability 10 . Follow the FIS work on reuse here: https://www.thefis.org/knowledge-hub/ sustainability Sustainability www.thefis.org 19 Linear economy Recycling economy FromTake . Make . use . discard to re-make . use-again Circular economy Source 1. ZAW– Interactive Routemap FINAL.pdf - Construction Leadership Council https://tinyurl.com/mtcnxe9z 2. Revealing the reality - how do we measure and achieve net zero fit outs - Arup https://tinyurl.com/2s4d9rr5 3. Buildings As Material Banks (BAMB2020) - BAMB https://www.bamb2020.eu/ 4. REPORT: Recommendations on circularity indicators for a circularity dashboard (circuit-project.eu ) https://tinyurl.com/3eenrs4r 5. Whole-Life-Carbon-Circular-Economy-Report.pdf (ukgbc.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com ) https://tinyurl.com/yckawjef 6. Revealing the reality - how do we measure and achieve net zero fit outs - Arup https://tinyurl.com/2s4d9rr5 7. Building Entopia (cam.ac.uk ) https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/building-entopia 8. LPG document template (green) (london.gov.uk ) https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/lpg_-_wlca_guidance.pdf 9. circular_economy_statements_lpg_0.pdf (london.gov.uk ) https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/circular_economy_statements_lpg_0.pdf 10. Code of Practice Pre-redevelopment audit July 17 V1 (condemwaste.org ) https://tinyurl.com/5n7y8hrb The remanufactured lights fitted in the Entopia building Picture by SOLK photography: Soren Kristensen CE model, compared to the linear and recycling economies