× Search
Log In Sign Up
Sustainability

Sustainability

Materials

The built environment industry can reduce the negative impacts of materials, whilst providing a competitive advantage for business.

Using sustainable materials to reduce your sustainability impact

Our choice of materials can impact how much water, carbon and energy we use

Understanding the materials you supply or are supplied with, how they are sourced, and the environmental impact they may have, is key to understanding how you can address these issues and ensure a transparent and ethical supply chain.

The UK construction industry uses more than 400 million tonnes of materials every year, making it the nation’s largest consumer of natural resources. So it’s important to reduce the impact of materials used, and address issues including:

  • Assessing embodied impacts of materials
  • Lifecycle impact consideration
  • Exploring the advantages of recycled or secondary materials

In addition to environmental considerations, there is now a greater emphasis on organisations to embed ethical practice within their supply chain dealings. And through the introduction of legislation such as the Modern Slavery Act, investors, clients and contractors are including responsible sourcing criteria on their tender documents.

Life Cycle Analysis/Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)

Hear from industry experts of the benefits of having product life cycle information and their experience of getting an EPD done.

Life Cycle Analysis and Environmental Product Declarations

What is responsible sourcing?

Responsible sourcing is demonstrated through an ethos of supply chain management and product stewardship, which encompasses social, economic and environmental dimensions. It also addresses aspects such as, stakeholder engagement, labour practices and the management of supply chains serving materials sectors upstream of the manufacturer.

Responsible sourcing of construction products provides a holistic approach to managing a product from the point at which a material is mined or harvested (in its raw state) through manufacture and processing. It also monitors the use, re-use and recycling process, until its final disposal as waste with no further value.

BES 6001: Responsible Sourcing of Materials

What are the benefits and advantages of responsibly sourced materials as a business? – e.g., meeting client needs/reducing risk of reputational damage/mitigating environmental risks. What were the supply chain challenges faced in getting the supply chain to adopt the standard and how to overcome this.

BES 6001: Responsible Sourcing of Materials

Latest Materials resources

Here are a selection of featured materials resources. To view more, please visit our full resource library.

Energy and Carbon
Human Rights
Energy and Carbon
Materials

Materials related topics

To help our members develop a holistic understanding of the issues associated with materials, we offer a suite of resources on the following related topics:

Topic
Energy and Carbon

Climate change is the biggest issue of our time and…

Read More
Slavery
Topic
Modern Slavery

With an estimated 49.6 million victims worldwide, modern slavery is…

Read More
Topic
Waste and Resource Efficiency

Changing the mindset from 'waste' to 'resources' and improving efficiency…

Read More
EmailWant to get in touch?
Do you have a question or comment? The School team is on hand to provide support to you and your organisation.
Say hello
Toolbox talks
Toolbox talks are a great way to engage your team on a variety of topics - watch one of our short videos and consult a list of questions to help facilitate a discussion.
View now