How can industry move towards a greener way of working?

The construction industry is known for its heavy use of natural resources, which is often an unavoidable part of the process. However, as the UK Government becomes more conscious of climate change and its impact on the world there is an increasing drive to re-think the way we build and re-design the built environment.

The construction industry has come together to call for the government’s ‘Build Back Better’ slogan to pave the way for investment into smarter carbon conscious building projects and for the opportunity to improve existing buildings and infrastructure. The budget announcement on the 3rd March confirmed this priority with the first ever UK infrastructure bank being set up to finance public and private sector green industrial revolution projects and consumers are being offered the chance to put their savings towards supporting green projects. This is the opportunity for a real turning point,

Construction projects often require the use of heavy plant equipment which take time to operate and emit CO2 in the process. While work is underway to look at ways to power plant and equipment differently, such as Hydrogen powered diggers, we still need to take this opportunity to think differently about the way we undertake projects.

Around half of all non-renewable resources we consume are used in construction, yet modern methods of working can be more sustainable. It is essential that we re-use more of our materials in the process, remediate rather than re-build and use fewer raw materials, eliminating the reliance on complex and often international supply chains that have their own unique challenges.

At Mainmark this is something we strongly believe in. Our resin injection solution Teretek® is used in the process of building and infrastructure remediation and is a sustainable and responsible solution that focuses on preservation rather than replacement. It reduces the need for invasive, lengthy traditional ‘underpinning’ works, that create environmental challenges in the methods used. It does not affect groundwater, soil quality, or local wildlife – making the process environmentally inert.