Our efforts to unlock Urban Mining, to reduce the energy consumption of the construction industry, have been recognised in the latest exhibition from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Long Life, Low Energy: Designing for a Circular Economy explores how adopting circular economy principles – eliminating waste by reusing materials instead of scrapping them – offers a critical means for the industry to reduce embodied carbon and get us to Net Zero.

Our use of reclaimed steel – one of the first ventures of its kind – is featured in a film specially commissioned by the RIBA as one of six exemplar approaches to innovate and change the way we build.

The current stats are pretty shocking. Building design, construction, maintenance and demolition currently consume 50% of all raw materials worldwide. And in the UK, 63% of waste comes from construction sites.

The timely new show draws on both the RIBA Collections and trailblazing new projects to help shine a light on a meaningful pathway to a sustainable future.

Long Life, Low Energy, Designing for a Circular Economy is free to visit at the RIBA’s London HQ at 66 Portland Place until 1 April 2023.