Circular Economy in Construction
For construction, the circular economy provides a means of reducing material waste, carbon emissions and project costs. Understanding the right way to re-use items or materials at the peak of their value means reducing our reliance on finite resources, mitigating environmental impacts as well as potentially reducing supply chain risks in the course of developments. In addition, procuring and building with future material re-use in mind brings significant advantages for meeting ESG objectives and improving the commercial outlook of your buildings.
TFT’s approach is to support our clients with the combined skillsets of sustainability, development management and engineering. Our multidisciplinary team provides our clients with the full picture and engages with a wider range of stakeholders to bring about the best project outcomes.
Circular economy in principle and in practice
We work with clients and key project stakeholders to apply circular economy principles from concept and design, through construction and operation. We translate the concepts – such as building in layers, designing out waste, and designing for flexibility and future adaptability – to practical steps.
We also provide initial analysis of the carbon impacts from the beginning of construction to the end. We facilitate exploration of the complexities of sustainability within design approaches, materials selection and procurement, including help in understanding certification schemes to get the best results for you and your customers, satisfying environmental performance and wellbeing.
Get in touch
Meet our team
Mat Lown
Mat is TFT's Chief ESG & Knowledge Officer. He's a chartered building surveyor and a chartered project management surveyor with more than 30 years of working with many leading property companies, investors, and asset managers.
In 2007, Mat founded TFT’s sustainability consultancy, which helps TFT’s clients to understand the specific sustainability risks and opportunities when making property investment and development decisions. Ultimately, he would like to see sustainability becoming part of what constitutes best practice.
Mat’s articles regularly appear in Construction News, Estates Gazette, RICS and Property Week, and he is a lead author of the RICS Guidance Note, ‘Sustainability – improving performance in existing buildings’. Also of note is Mat’s thesis, ‘Building a Greener Future’, which was published by the CIOB in 1991. He is vice chair of the British Property Federation’s sustainability committee, and a member of British Council for Offices ESG group.
Mat is interested in how great buildings and places can create delight and he particularly enjoys the creative re-use of existing buildings. The South Bank is a great example of how a place can be rejuvenated by considered new interventions and careful restoration of the original building fabric.
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