Stop demolishing. Start repurposing.

When it comes to the environmental impacts of buildings, new doesn’t always mean better. By repurposing old buildings, we can reduce carbon emissions and accelerate progress towards a sustainable future.

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The carbon cost of buildings

We’re facing a climate crisis and construction is at the epicentre. Here are some of the facts.

Carbon emissions are the primary cause of global warming, resulting in large-scale drought, heat stress, famine, poverty, ecosystem extinction and loss of habitable land. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, our only chance of avoiding the worst effects is to limit the temperature rise to 1.5°C by 2050.
The construction industry is responsible for almost 40% of global carbon emissions. Half of this comes from steel and concrete used to construct buildings (known as embedded or embodied carbon) and is released every time a building is knocked down. The other half comes from construction traffic and energy consumption.
Demolishing buildings to replace them with new ones is a big contributor to carbon emissions (source: The Royal Institute of British Architects).
In the UK in 2019, these emissions reached an all-time high of 13.5 million metric tonnes of CO2 (source: UK Construction Media).
50,000 buildings are demolished in the UK every year, producing 126 million tonnes of waste – that’s two-thirds of the UK’s total waste (source: Real Asset Insight).
Without reducing all CO2 emissions from the built environment by 2040, we won’t meet the critical 1.5°C climate target (source: Architecture 2030).

    Building the road to net zero

    It’s a monumental challenge. But governments and industry are rallying together, committing to ambitious targets to achieve the step change we need. 

    Almost 200 countries have now joined the Paris Agreement initiated at COP21 in 2016 – legally binding them to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
    The UK Government’s 2020 Energy White Paper states that, at 87 million tonnes of carbon emissions, “buildings are the second largest source of emissions in the UK” and targets that all commercial properties achieve an EPC rating of at least B by 2030.
    Recent COP events have seen rapid growth in construction sector initiatives, including commitments for all new buildings to be net-zero carbon and for embedded carbon to be reduced by at least 40% by 2030.
    In October 2020, the European Commission published its Renovation Wave, aiming to double renovation rates over the next 10 years – in other words, a 100% increase in the number of buildings that are repurposed versus today.

    While progress is promising, it’s not nearly enough. The 2022 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction shows starkly that the sector is not on track to achieve decarbonisation by 2050.

    We must do much more, much faster. And this means the repurposing of existing buildings has to become the new norm.
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    Playing our part

    We can’t solve it all by ourselves. But by shifting the default from ‘demolish and rebuild’ to ‘reimagine and repurpose’, we can help to tackle climate change – and other societal challenges – in a meaningful way.

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    Repurposing buildings:

    The environmental benefits

    50-50% lower carbon footprint

    Embedded carbon is retained, not released
    Demolished building materials are not sent to landfill
    Existing structural steel, concrete and other materials are re-used
    Fewer new materials and resources are needed
    Greenfield sites are preserved
    Less energy is consumed in repurposing development activity than new construction
    Repurposed buildings are brought up to more energy-efficient standards
    Overall carbon footprint is reduced by up to 75%.

      Repurposing buildings:

      The environmental benefits

      50-75% lower carbon footprint

      Embedded carbon is retained, not released
      Demolished building materials are not sent to landfill
      Existing structural steel, concrete and other materials are re-used
      Fewer new materials and resources are needed
      Greenfield sites are preserved
      Less energy is consumed in repurposing development activity than new construction
      Repurposed buildings are brought up to more energy-efficient standards
      Overall carbon footprint is reduced by up to 75%.
        Embedded carbon is retained, not released
        Demolished building materials are not sent to landfill
        Existing structural steel, concrete and other materials are re-used
        Fewer new materials and resources are needed
        Greenfield sites are preserved
        Less energy is consumed in repurposing development activity than new construction
        Repurposed buildings are brought up to more energy-efficient standards
        Overall carbon footprint is reduced by up to 75%.
          carb footprint photo

          Supporting communities

          We’re repurposing buildings to serve growing local needs and aiming to reinvest 90% of our net profits (after returns to investors) into community-based projects.

          Prioritising good governance

          We’re applying for Pending B Corp status to solidify our commitment to being a purpose-driven business that creates measurable benefits for all stakeholders.
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          Together, we’ll make a difference.

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