There is growing momentum behind the movement for a retrofit first approach to future development. It’s noticeable that commentators are taking much greater interest in interrogating decisions to demolish existing structures, mirroring changing sentiment around our increasingly indefensible disposable society.

For someone with a career-long interest in driving out inefficiency, waste and carbon from our construction processes, this enhanced profile around re-use is most welcome. However, there’s a major elephant in the room when it comes to building on increasing interest in this topic, and it’s around how we quantify embodied carbon and other pertinent data from re-used materials. If we can’t measure the stuff – then we can’t be evangelical when we deliver a smart solution that sequesters carbon; or steer our customers and supply chains towards better products or methodologies with a reduced carbon impact and increased circularity.