This page presents data, evidence, and solutions that are provided by our partners and members and should therefore not be attributed to UKGBC. While we showcase these solutions for inspiration, to build consensus, and create momentum for climate action, UKGBC does not offer commercial endorsement of individual solutions. If you would like to quote something from this page, or more information, please contact our Communications team at media@ukgbc.org.

The post Low-Carbon Roof Extensions to Existing Buildings appeared first on UKGBC.

UKGBC’s recent Materials Passports Guides provide an overview of materials passports and how they can be a tool to support greater circularity within the built environment. This guide’s also outline which stakeholder may need to be involved in the process and the different types of data which may want to be collected.

Building on the guides, this webinar will showcase tools and solutions to aid with collecting data over the building’s lifespan and the creation of materials passports. You should attend this webinar if you are involved with circular design and the tracking of materials over the life of built assets.

During the event, you’ll hear from the UKGBC team on the importance of the topic, after which there will be a series of quick-fire pitches from our Innovative Start-Up members and companies offering solutions in this space. UKGBC’s Solutions & Innovation team have been continuously profiling many of these in our Solutions Library.

UKGBC is therefore running this cross-team webinar to showcase some of the innovative solutions available to help built environment practitioners understand the tools available in this area.

UKGBC cancellation and refund policy

Please see our website for more details on our cancellations and refunds.

Advancing Net Zero Partners

Our Advancing Net Zero work is made possible thanks to our programme partners

The post Innovation Showcase – Materials Passports appeared first on UKGBC.

The role of materials passports in circular construction

A materials passport is a digital record that captures essential data about a material’s composition, life-cycle impact, and reuse potential. By documenting these attributes, passports support informed decision-making at every stage of a building’s life-cycle — from design to deconstruction. They ensure materials retain value beyond their initial use, reducing landfill and supporting a truly circular economy. 

This aligns with the UK’s increasing focus on material reuse to lower embodied carbon. More developers and project teams now prioritise not just the upfront emissions of materials but also their potential for reclamation and reuse. However, for materials passports to function effectively, the industry needs standardised, reliable environmental and material data. While EPDs provide insights into environmental performance, a broader set of information—covering material composition, deconstructability, and circularity potential—is required to fully support their implementation. 

Why EPDs are essential to materials passports

EPDs, as defined by the European standard EN 15804, provide third-party verified data on a product’s environmental impact across its life-cycle. This independent verification ensures reliability, giving architects, engineers, and contractors confidence in their material choices. EPDs specifically measure global warming potential (GWP) — the key metric for assessing a material’s embodied carbon — alongside other environmental indicators. This data is broken down into core life-cycle stages, covering production, construction, use, and end-of-life. 

For manufacturers, this shift presents a challenge and an opportunity. As sustainability expectations grow, contractors and clients increasingly require EPDs from their supply chains. Without them, manufacturers risk exclusion from tenders where transparency on environmental impact is now a key selection criterion. 

The regulatory and market drivers for EPD adoption

Several regulatory and industry-led initiatives are accelerating EPD and materials passport adoption:

–UK Net-Zero Commitments & PAS 2080: The UK’s net-zero strategy is driving stricter embodied carbon reporting, with PAS 2080 emphasizing life-cycle assessment (LCA) and material transparency.

–EU Level(s) Framework & Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR): UK manufacturers selling in the European market must comply with ESPR, reinforcing the need for transparent product environmental data.

–Client and investor demand: With EDG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria shaping investment and procurement decisions, having EPDs can be a competitive advantage.

Mapping low-carbon products with digital tools

To fully utilise EPDs and materials passports, the industry must leverage digital tools that simplify access to environmental data. Platforms aggregating EPDs and materials passports into searchable databases allow architects, engineers, and contractors to compare materials based on carbon footprint, sourcing, and end-of-life potential. These tools also provide manufacturers with a platform to showcase their products, helping specifiers select materials aligned with sustainability targets and regulations.

EPDS and materials passports in building certifications

EPDs and materials passports contribute to key sustainability certifications. EPDs support compliance with embodied carbon reduction targets in BREEAM, LEED, RICS, and Level(s), while materials passports enhance circularity by tracking material provenance and reuse potential. Though not yet mandatory, they are increasingly recognised as essential for meeting sustainability benchmarks and certification requirements.

Streamlining EPD generation for materials passports

For EPDs to drive widespread materials passport adoption, the process of generating them must be efficient and accessible. Historically, EPD production was time-consuming and costly, but advancements in life-cycle assessment (LCA) software are streamlining and semi-automating the process.

Manufacturers can now generate and publish EPDs more efficiently, ensuring their products are market-ready and compliant with evolving regulations. By leveraging such tools, construction professionals can integrate materials passports into workflows more seamlessly, reducing complexity and improving traceability. 

Beyond EPDs: enabling circular construction through digital solutions

Beyond EPDs, digital platforms play a key role in promoting low-carbon materials. Global material databases, like Material Compass provided by One Click LCA, help AEC professionals assess materials based on environmental impact while allowing manufacturers to showcase their lower-carbon products. By integrating these tools, the industry can build a structured, accessible pathway from EPD creation to materials passport adoption, embedding sustainability within material selection and procurement.

From data to action: embedding materials passports in practice

To fully realise the potential of materials passports, stakeholders across the built environment must collaborate to standardise data collection, enhance material traceability, and integrate passports into Building Information Modelling (BIM) workflows. This involves:

–Manufacturers prioritising EPD generation to ensure materials are eligible for passports and suitable for reuse.
–Architects and engineers incorporating materials passports into specifications, considering end-of-life material value at the design stage.
–Contractors and developers leveraging material databases to select circular products that align with sustainability goals.

A call to action for a circular future

As circular construction gains momentum, materials passports are emerging as a critical tool in the transition. However, without the foundational data provided by EPDs, their full potential remains unrealised.

For real progress, manufacturers, specifiers, and policymakers must work together to ensure environmental data is not only available but actively used to support material reuse and carbon reduction. By embracing materials passports and the EPDs that enable them, the UK’s construction sector can take a more meaningful step towards a truly sustainable, resource-efficient future.

How EPDs support materials passports

Materials Passports Guides

These practical and technical guides give an overview of Materials Passports and their crucial role in promoting circularity and reuse in the built environment.

Learn more

The post EPDs and Materials Passports in Circular Construction appeared first on UKGBC.

The table below includes information about many of the solutions in this area with information provided by the solution provider. Please click on the company names to see more information about each solution.

This page presents data, evidence, and solutions that are provided by our partners and members and should therefore not be attributed to UKGBC. While we showcase these solutions for inspiration, to build consensus, and create momentum for climate action, UKGBC does not offer commercial endorsement of individual solutions. If you would like to quote something from this page, or more information, please contact our Communications team at media@ukgbc.org.

The post Materials Passports Platforms appeared first on UKGBC.

This page presents data, evidence, and solutions that are provided by our partners and members and should therefore not be attributed to UKGBC. While we showcase these solutions for inspiration, to build consensus, and create momentum for climate action, UKGBC does not offer commercial endorsement of individual solutions. If you would like to quote something from this page, or more information, please contact our Communications team at media@ukgbc.org.

The post Collated guidance for reducing carbon in buildings appeared first on UKGBC.

We need to move to a new way of thinking, working, and delivery; a circular economy must be part of the equation. We must revaluate the way we think about and approach the building cycle by considering everything from design all the way to end-of-life planning.

In recent years, materials passports have gained prominence in the built environment sector for their use in promoting circularity, climate mitigation, and waste reduction. These ‘passports’ digitally store key information on construction materials and products, supporting the recovery and reuse of these materials over their life cycle. In the built environment sector, these lifecycle documents act as a tool for data and understanding end-of-life options for materials. By digitally logging the trajectory of these components, materials passports are crucial in unlocking circularity and promoting material reuse in the built environment.

Materials Passports Practical Guide

Our practical guide covers key principles of materials passports, such as why they’re important, key considerations, key stakeholders to engage with, and more.

Download the Practical Guide here

Materials Passports Information Reference Guide

Our information reference guide is mainly aimed at clients, design teams, contractors, and manufacturers. It outlines the way in which materials passports will be most beneficial and which data/information is considered essential, recommended, and optional to include in a passport.

Download the Reference Guide here

What are material passports and what are the benefits of using them?

UKGBC’s Clare Wilde reflects on the role of material passports in driving a circular economy within our built environment.

Read Clare’s blog

Circular Economy

The built environment needs to move away from the linear economy and embrace circularity. This will reduce waste, carbon emissions and our impact on the natural world.

View more

The post Materials Passports appeared first on UKGBC.

Our annual Keystone Meeting will be hosted by RICS at Surveyors House in the heart of Westminster, on the afternoon of 19 March from 1-5pm.  This year’s event will focus on understanding and realising the UK Governments 7th carbon budget through industry action and policy.  We are looking forward to welcoming you. 

With over 100 guests invited, the afternoon will include a light lunch followed by a Keynote speech, a panel discussion, and a challenge for our members.  Speaker and Panellists will be announced shortly.  Please secure your place now to receive more information. 

All of the UK must meet net zero by 2050, in line with the target set out in legislation. In addition to the UK-wide target, Scotland has set its own and is aiming to become a net zero economy by 2045. 

The UK has also committed to a 68% reduction in emissions by 2030, as part of its Nationally Determined Contribution towards the Paris Agreement. 

Alongside these headline targets, the UK has set interim ‘carbon budgets’ which cap the emissions within different carbon budgetary periods. The current fourth carbon budget requires a 52% reduction in emissions by 2027, while the sixth carbon budget requires a 78% reduction by 2037. 

Between November 2024 and February 2025, the government needs to set a new Nationally Determined Contribution for 2035. Additionally, in 2025 the government is due to agree the seventh carbon budget, which will cover the period from 2038-2042. 

This is a Keystone Member Only event.  Each Keystone member is allocated three places and one of the places must be used by a Director/Executive Director if not the CEO of your organisation.  Tickets are limited and this is invitation only event, please secure your places today. 

UKGBC cancellation and refund policy

Please see our website for more details on our cancellations and refunds.

The post Annual Keystone Members Event   appeared first on UKGBC.

FutureBuild brings together around 15k professionals committed to sustainability, innovation, and collaboration in the built environment – architect, engineer, contractor, policy makers – and offers insights, cutting-edge products, and networking opportunities to support sustainability goals. 

In partnership with: Mitsubishi Electric UK, Interface and Chetwoods Architects, we are returning to Futurebuild with our award winning stand, where you can learn more about our work, and our network.  As part of the 3-day event,  we are participating in two main stage events, and leading on three panel discussion as well as hosting a materials workshop on stand. See below for our full activity calendar.

Day 1 – Tuesday 4th March

12:00-12:45 How the circular economy and degrowth can avoid catastrophic tipping points

We have known about ‘limits to growth’ since at least 1972. We know that society’s use of materials for all purposes has increased from 7 billion tons in 1900 to 92 billion tons in 2017, and this is just not sustainable. We can recycle as much as we can but if we keep trying to grow GDP no matter the environmental and social costs, we risk missing our climate targets and triggering catastrophic tipping points. We then try to put a price on nature that doesn’t prohibit growth. Thinking ‘circular’ goes beyond waste and influences every decision that we make particularly for those working in the built environment. Time for an honest conversation about where we should be in 12 months? By 2030? by 2035?

Chair: Smith Mordak, UKGBC

Panel: Dr David Greenfield, SOENECS; Elwyn Grainger-Jones, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute; Teresa Domenech, University College London

Day 2 – Wednesday 5th March 

13:30-14:15 How resilient is the UK built environment to climate impacts?

A session around the UKGBC Climate Resilience Roadmap, with a sneak peek at the roadmap content looking at how resilient and vulnerable the UK built environment is to climate impacts, including results of the Roadmap research as well as key insights.  We will explore ‘where should we be in 12 months / 2030 / 2035’ as we will tease the actions and recommendations. 

Chairs: Hannah Giddings, UKGBC; Macarena Cardenas, UKGBC

Panel: Ashely Bateson, Hoare Lea; Christine Cambrook, Buro Happold; Anna Oxenham, Mace

Location: Buildings Impact Stage

14:30-15:20 Material Matters Workshop delivered by Chetwoods Architects (UKGBC Stand)

Chetwoods Architects dive into all things sustainability when it comes to materials, including embodied carbon, health and wellbeing, and the circular economy. Information and exploration of a range of exciting material samples for an interactive session where you can challenge yourself to pick out the more sustainable material options, and identify the red herrings.

16:15-17:00 The Futurebuild Conversation – Achieving our low carbon future? Why aren’t we there yet? 

As we transition to our low carbon future we find ourselves at a pivotal moment as it is only 25 years to 2050 when we need to get to the legally binding target of reducing carbon emissions to net zero. So what are the opportunities and the barriers?Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning are major consumers of energy in any building and the HVAC equipment that is designed and installed over the next 5 years is likely to still be in use in 2050. That means that the decisions we all make now on both new-build, and more importantly retrofit must align with those net zero goals if clients are to avoid ending up with stranded assets.  Yet the technology that can help on the road to net zero already exists.

Chair: Dr Anastasia Mylona, Technical Director, CIBSE

Panel: Yetunde Abdul, UKGBC; Steff Wright, Gusto Group; Chris Newman, Mitsubishi Electric

Location: Futurebuild Arena

Day 3: Thursday 6th March

10:30-11:15 What is a ‘Regenerative Place’? and how do we get there? 

The word ‘Regenerative’ is being used with increasing frequency across industry, with a growing number of perspectives on what it the concept means. There is less understanding so far, of how it translates into practice and especially how we retrofit our homes and urban spaces to bring the vision into reality for UK communities.  The session will focus on Improving biodiversity and green space; offering health and social value benefits, strengthening climate resilience 

Chaired by: Joanne Wheeler, UKGBC; Anna Hollyman, UKGBC

Panel: Miles Lewis, Clarion Housing Group; Carl Walker, Hoare Lea

Location: Placemaking Impact Stage

13:30-14:15 Towards a nature-positive built environment 

A reflection on the built environment’s role in the global transition to a nature positive future. This session will outline our current understanding of what nature positive entails and focus specifically on addressing embodied ecological impacts from materials. It will showcase best practice examples and key principles to make a difference. 

Chair: Kai Liebetanz, UKGBC

Panel: Aaron Grainger, Buro Happold; Julia Baker, Mott Macdonald; Becky Gordon, Interface 

Deep Dive into Supply Chain Decarbonisation

UKGBC will be showcasing Supply Chain Decarbonisation on our stand at Futurebuild, in a series of five sessions. We will be sharing details of our work to date including the aim, scope, plans, activity to date and our desired outcomes from this workstream. UKGBC programme leads will be heading this event, with support from Partners and Task Group members in attendance.

In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to contribute to our testing of initial ideas for action, shaping our developing plans for future work. Whilst also learning how, as stakeholders in the built environment, you can get more involved in helping to drive progress.

The Deep Dive event will take place during the following time periods:
Tuesday 4 March 11:00-12:00, 14:00-15:00
Wednesday 5 March 11:00-12:00, 14:00-15:00
Thursday 6 March 11:00-12:00

The post UKGBC at Futurebuild 2025 appeared first on UKGBC.

This report summarises a range of sustainable solution trends that UKGBC has seen over the course of 2024, provides context on their use, and comments on the relevant driving forces in the UK market. The solutions discussed range from innovative new platforms and materials to transformative business models and processes. The analysis is based on engagement with innovation-focused UKGBC members (including input from UKGBC’s Solutions & Innovation Advisory Group), interviews with UKGBC topic leads, and desktop research.

UKGBC does not formally endorse any of the solutions presented in this report. It is intended as a signpost and a source of inspiration for built environment stakeholders, who should always carry out their own due diligence before adoption. While this is a summary of some of the notable solutions of which UKGBC has become aware, there are likely to be other solutions available but not mentioned. Discover more solutions in our Solutions Library. 

Solutions and Innovation

At UKGBC we take a collaborative approach to identify sustainability challenges across the built environment and help source and implement the solutions to them.

Learn more

The post Trends in Sustainable Solutions for the Built Environment – Reflecting on 2024 appeared first on UKGBC.

UKGBC’s recent Embodied Carbon modelling and reporting project aims to improve the transparency and consistency of embodied carbon assessment.  

Building on the report, this webinar will showcase tools and solutions to aid with designing low-embodied carbon buildings and undertake whole life carbon assessments. You should attend this webinar if you are involved with low embodied carbon design and the measurement of whole life carbon of built assets.  

During the event, you’ll hear from the UKGBC team on the importance of the topic, after which there will be a series of quick-fire pitches from our Innovative Start-Up members and companies offering solutions in this space. UKGBC’s Solutions & Innovation team have been continuously profiling many of these in our Solutions Library. 

UKGBC is therefore running this cross-team webinar to showcase some of the innovative solutions available to help built environment practitioners understand the tools available in this area.  

UKGBC cancellation and refund policy

Please see our website for more details on our cancellations and refunds.

Advancing Net Zero Partners

Our Advancing Net Zero work is made possible thanks to our programme partners

The post Innovation Showcase – Embodied Carbon calculation tools   appeared first on UKGBC.