I always enjoy the BMF’s sustainability forums, partly because I’m so passionate about the subject, partly because I run the BMF’s sustainability working group with Giles Bradford and partly because I really like the people who are championing this complex area, so critical to the future of a more sustainable built environment.
It didn’t fail to deliver and was another landmark forum with excellent contributions from:
Emily Landsborough, our host from Ibstock Plc. Great to see Ibstock leading the charge as the first brick manufacturer in the UK to provide 38 verified EPDs across 200 products.
David Adams Future Homes Hub was championing the need for the industry to collaborate more to prepare for the complexity of Part L and FHS and the vital role of merchants to help deliver them.
Matt Neary showcased how Knauf Insulation UK & Ireland are making strategic investments in state of the art manufacturing technology to drive the transition to more sustainable insulation products.
Nathan Wride from The Pallet LOOP made the case for the sector to move into a new era of eco-innovation and to get behind game changing innovations.
I was there to present the second ‘state of sustainability in the building materials sector’ research report, conducted by CMDi, commissioned by the Builders Merchants Federation Ltd and informed by the BMF’s excellent Working Group 1 for sustainability, managed by me and chaired by Giles Bradford.
The 2024 report provides a fascinating insight into our sector, which is now evolving quickly.
Understanding of the longer-term business value of sustainability is accelerating, with 67% of suppliers seeing it as a source of value creation. SME merchants however, are still grappling with ‘the why’ and where to start.
The big win is the increase in usage and adoption of EPD’s by suppliers, especially as this is the government’s key metric for measuring the successful transition to more sustainable building materials.
The key take out is that we must focus on demystifying this complex area for the many BMF members still at the start of their sustainability journey, with 16% saying they still have no sustainability goals whatsoever.
Giles makes this rallying call to the sector:
- Merchants – what are you doing to enable your customers to build more sustainably?
- Manufacturers – help merchants to drive this. Make sure that you’re passing on the important data and information.
- Everyone – upskill to sell sustainability. How you are preparing your current and future teams to engage with and support the future of building?
