Chris Coxon, Head of Marketing at Eurocell plc, discusses the construction sector’s role in reversing climate change.
The impact of modern society on the environment has dominated the news agenda in recent months, with Extinction Rebellion protests shutting down various parts of London and an increasing number of people demanding that action is taken to reduce climate change.
The protests were part of a snowball effect sparked by teenage activist Greta Thunberg, whose emotive speeches and school strikes outside the Swedish parliament helped to galvanise the movement worldwide.
Whilst some of the tactics received a mixed response – particularly the disruption of the London Underground by some Extinction Rebellion members – the fact remains that action has highlighted the severity of the climate change emergency.
The extent of the problem
With scientists confirming that global warming has already led to droughts, rising sea levels, floods and melting glaciers, the UK Government has pledged to end its contribution to climate change by 2050.
This will require the UK to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero in just three decades; no mean feat.
The building and construction industries, in particular, have a significant detrimental impact on the environment. Currently, they are jointly responsible for 40 per cent of all carbon emissions across the world.
Furthermore, 120 million tonnes of materials used by the construction industry in the UK end up in landfill every year, equating to 32 per cent of total landfill waste. The sector therefore has a key role to play, with a number of progressive businesses in the sector already starting to make changes in the fields of waste management and recycling.
The demand for sustainable building
The general public has understandably been sceptical of the Government’s plans to reduce emissions.
After all, it previously pledged to make all new-build homes zero carbon by 2016 – a policy that was dropped in 2015. Without regulatory pressure, housebuilders have been less incentivised to focus on sustainable methods of construction, but the growing movement to protect the environment is starting to change this.
What’s more, there is significant demand amongst consumers for housebuilders and developers to move towards greener methods of construction. This was highlighted by Eurocell research which found that over half of people believe it is important that their home is made using environmentally-responsible materials.
Using environmentally friendly building products
In order to cater to this consumer desire for sustainable housing, careful consideration must be taken to ensure that, where possible, the most sustainable building materials are used on projects.
However, a certain amount of misinformation exists when it comes to the sustainable credentials of some materials and products. Take PVC-U, for example, which is subject to a common misconception that, like many plastics, is non-recyclable, when actually it is a material that can have its lifetime significantly extended to help reduce waste. What’s more, as a result of scientific behaviour changes, such as the impact modifier compounds within the material, for the first 4-5 times PVC-U is recycled, it gets stronger by up to 6 per cent. This means that PVC-U can be re-processed and re-used to manufacture products of equal quality, creating an ‘upstream’ recycling process.
This recycling process is one that every PVC-U product can go through up to 10 times, meaning that the lifespan of the average PVC-U window, for example, can be extended from 35 years to 350, as stated by the BRE. With 22 per cent of our research panel citing the use of recycled and sustainable building products as the most important sustainability feature in a home, it’s clear that products that have gone through a well thought out recycling process can help to improve a property’s overall appeal.
Over the past 10 years, Eurocell has invested approximately £10 million in developing PVC-U recycling capabilities and its state-of-the-art recycling plant, which has saved well over 60,000 tonnes of end-of-life PVC-U ending up in landfill. We’ve also manufactured eight product ranges from recycled PVC-U.
Time for action
With its record on sustainability is increasingly called into question, many in the construction sector are beginning to realise that now is the time for change. A number of progressive manufacturers are making strides in the fields of waste management and recycling and it’s vital that this continues.
There is still a long way to go but we have seen an increase in the number of sustainable building products available, giving housebuilders and developers the opportunity to cater to consumer demand to deliver more environmentally friendly homes across the UK.
Looking forward, by implementing a conscious shift towards using sustainable building products, the UK construction industry can go some way to improving its environmental record whilst helping to achieve Government sustainability targets in the future.