Engineering firms team up in net zero push

Six engineering firms have come together to promote the reuse of building materials in an effort to move the built environment towards net zero. The Engineers Reuse Collective is a not-for-profit group that will support and encourage circular economy principles by promoting best practice across the industry and lobbying for faster change in future policy. The founding companies are Buro Happold, Civic Engineers, Elliott Wood, Heyne Tillett Steel, Webb Yates Engineers and Whitby Wood, with support from the Institution of Structural Engineers. The group cites UK Green Building Council figures that state the construction sector is currently responsible for 25% of the UK’s carbon emissions, with embodied carbon accounting for one-third of the figure. TERC says this can be significantly reduced through the reuse of building materials in which components from older buildings are taken and used in the creation of new projects. A recent example of this is Fore Partnership’s TBC London office building near Tower Bridge, SE1, which was built using 100-year-old steel taken from the House of Fraser building at 318 Oxford Street, W1. The group is led by Andy Yates, former director of Webb Yates Engineers. Yates said: “The climate crisis is here and as engineers we need to accelerate our actions to transition our built environment to zero carbon. “Part of this is having open conversations to share our successes and challenges, as well as the more granular ‘nuts and bolts’ of how we reuse our existing assets. I am delighted to be part of this proactive, exciting and forward-thinking collective of engineers who are passionate about making a positive change in the industry.” Civic Engineers director Gareth Atkinson said: “Some of the most rewarding work I’ve been engaged in has been collaborating with fellow sustainably minded professionals in the built environment to move the dial on issues such as material reuse, circularity and net zero carbon.” Image © Andy Matthews