Jonathan Cox is Marketing Director at Rye Group
There are several turning points in history that have changed the course of society, science, and humanity. Whether it’s the legendary apple falling on Sir Isaac Newton’s head, Alexander Fleming’s accidental discovery of penicillin, or the Founding Fathers meeting to develop a new way to govern the US, they’ve all led to major change . Change of thinking and change of behavior.
Accepting the comparison may be a bit of a stretch, perhaps the European Demolition Association (EDA) annual conference in Amsterdam could be another major turning point. Maybe not on the same scale as the previous examples, but who knows?
The reason I make this comparison relates to a particularly lively and informative session on the first afternoon of the conference, which took place June 15-17. The session focused on environmental concerns for the demolition industry. The room, filled with between 70 and 80 delegates from all over Europe, started by listening to two talks, one by Jon van Herk from Veras in the Netherlands on the topic of nitrogen compounds in demolition and construction works , and another of me, sharing Rye’s running experience. carbon audits and how other demolition companies can embark on their own carbon reduction journey.
Both sessions were well received and generated interesting and challenging questions from the audience. But what came next was a real seed of hope for the future.
Jose Blanco, Secretary General of the EDA, moved the session into an interactive workshop, challenging the room of demolition professionals to explore more environmental concerns and possible solutions.
As the room gathered in groups from across the continent, it was heartening to see and hear a united energy to address the issues at hand. Priorities discussed included:
- The availability and cost of alternative fuels for use in facilities and machinery
- The development of electrical machinery and alternative fuel
- The efficient use of water at work for dust suppression
- Measurement of NOx gases in situ
- Helping demolition companies carry out carbon audits
…and much more.
The best vision, however, was a real push to do something:
- Increase collaboration to take these issues forward
Companies such as Rye have been proactive in introducing alternative fuels to machinery, carrying out carbon audits and innovating with digital waste management tools to reduce truck movements, but it was universally accepted that there is only so much you can do real progress at scale if collaboration improves.
I had a fruitful discussion with the new chief executive of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors, Duncan Rudall, on the subject and it was exciting to hear of his desire to work not only with UK contractors but also with the government, other federations international, developers and industry. service providers to find a way forward.
It is imperative that organizations like NFDC and EDA continue to work to bring the industry together and influence change. The desire seems to be there.
The industry does not need or want new regulation that adds costs and administrative duties to the workload, but it does require upward and outward pressure and creativity to accelerate the pace of environmental innovation and create a positive and economically viable journey towards a greener future for demolition.
The industry is already doing a lot. Recycling and reuse rates are excellent in many countries and improving in others, technology has come a long way to improve efficiency, and institutions such as NFDC and EDA are already exploring many interesting and innovative solutions to address the challenges of the industry and, more importantly, the faces of wider society.
More needs to be done, and the rewards are not small. In Rye’s presentation on carbon audits and footprint reduction, we saw how our reduction of 2,829 tonnes of CO2E is equivalent to the annual carbon consumption of 549 people in the UK, avoiding melting 8,487 m2 of Arctic sea ice and saving $523,365 according to nature.com related to managing economic, health and environmental issues.
The built environment sector accounts for around 40% of total UK emissions, so imagine the power of the industry really coming together to find solutions to the challenges discussed.
Billions could be saved and the ice caps kept intact with each small step taken, even if emissions are reduced by just a few percentage points.
So maybe the afternoon of June 15, 2023 I could go down as a seminal point in history: the day the demolition industry took its next big step toward collaboration and innovation for the good of the planet.
Step aside Isaac Newton, here comes the demolition!
