Sustainability

Net Zero - The Challenge

To respond to the climate emergency, all parts of society must play their part. The built environment contributes 40% to the UK’s carbon emissions and therefore has a big responsibility to reduce carbon throughout the construction lifecycle. For manufacturers this may mean changes to the manufacturing process and /or innovation to the types of products they bring to the market to aid designers and contractors to reduce carbon emissions in buildings and infrastructure.

Briefing Papers

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The members of the Construction Products Association represent a very wide range of material and products manufacturers based in the UK, from material producers such as cement, steel and wood producers to product manufacturers of wood panel, door and hardware, coatings, flooring, roofing and windows for instance. For each sector, the challenges and opportunities of decarbonisation are likely to be different. For energy Intensive industries (such as cement, glass, steel and ceramics) the priority is how to replace fossil fuel in the manufacturing process, for other sectors, such as flooring it may be how to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill.

Below is a directory linking to the broad range of actions construction product manufacturers are taking to contribute to decarbonisation targets. You can also learn more about the climate emergency and decarbonisation in our Sustainability Briefing Papers on the right.

This is time of great challenge but also great opportunity. Whatever the future holds, it will be different.

CPA Decarbonisation Directory

Manufacturers taking Action

If you are a CPA member and would like to submit an entry to the directory below, please contact Jane Thornback

Click on each entry to find out further details.

Aggregate Industries

Aggregate Industries has published its Sustainability Strategy with commitments by 2025 of 100% zero-carbon electricity at its sites, transport emissions reduced by 5%, and by 2030 its net CO2 emissions per tonne reduced by 22%.

BEAMA

In 2019, BEAMA, the electrical equipment and system manufacturers association, set out their commitment, signed by 24 companies, to take action to deliver the net zero by 2050 target.

Brick Development Association

The BDA issues an annual Sustainability Report reviewing collective progress in brick manufacturing across a range of sustainability indicators, and highlighting challenges to be addressed.

British Coatings Federation

British Coatings Federation has published its Net Zero Roadmap

British Glass

The glass sector in the UK has set out its strategy to achieve Net Zero CO2 by 2050.

CARES

The UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steel, has committed via the Race to Zero SME Climate Hub to reducing its direct carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, reaching Net Zero by 2050, and will report progress annually.

Ceramics UK

Ceramics UK coordinates a sector initiative - Ceramics UK: Towards Net Zero - to share best practice, instigate decarbonisation activity and help promote sector issues / challenges. It has also updated Industry Decarbonisation Roadmap to align with UK net zero ambitions.

Contract Flooring Association

For Flooring, a key element in the decarbonisation journey is to reduce the amount of waste created at end of use. CFA has explored what is needed in its report 'Zero Avoidable Waste in Flooring — Towards a Circular Economy'.

Etex Group

Etex has set out its Road to Sustainability 2030 Plan including a target to reduce its greenhouse gas emission intensity (Scopes 1&2) by 35%.

Forterra

Forterra supports the UK 2050 Net Zero target and has joined the Race To Zero setting an absolute carbon reduction target of 27.5% by 2030 against a 2019 baseline.

GENUIT

Genuit group is a signatory of the Pledge to Net Zero, and has stated an interim target of a 66% Scope 1 & 2 reduction in carbon by 2025 without resorting to offsets.

Heidelberg Materials

Hanson has drawn up 2030 Commitments around a range of indicators including energy and carbon, and issues an annual sustainability report with performance metrics.

H+H

H+H has committed to achieving net-zero emissions in its operations and products by 2050

Ibstock Brick

Ibstock has made a commitment to achieve a 40% reduction in carbon by 2030 and be Net Zero by 2040. Its implementation plan is detailed in its 2030 ESG Strategy.

Kingspan Group

Kingspan’s 10-year Planet Passionate programme sets ambitious targets on energy, carbon, circularity and water that will ensure it meets it SBTi targets, and be a net zero carbon manufacturing company globally by 2030.

Knauf

Knauf Insulation has set targets to minimise the climate impact of its products, plants and offices.

Marley

Marley has set an objective to achieve a 78% reduction in carbon emissions or carbon offsetting by 2035 compared to its 2019 levels.

Marshalls

Between 2008 and 2020, Marshalls reduced its carbon footprint by 50%, and has had its commitments to reduce emissions even further approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

MCRMA

The Metal Cladding & Roofing Manufacturers Association’s approach to sustainability centres on the high recycled content of their products which are made from both pre-consumer and post-consumer scrap and can be reused or recycled repeatedly without losing their qualities as a building material.

MPA - The Concrete Centre

The UK concrete and cement sector has set out a roadmap to become net negative by 2050, removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits each year.

Rockwool

ROCKWOOL employs circularity principles to production whilst carbon, water and waste reduction all feature heavily in their ambitious sustainability targets, including science-based decarbonisation targets set in 2020 that have been verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

Saint Gobain

Saint-Gobain is committed to achieving net zero carbon by 2050 as part of its purpose to ‘Make the world a better home’. It has in place medium-term science-based targets for 2030.

Sika

Sika has a carbon reduction plan to implement its 2022 SBTi commitment to reach Net Zero no later than 2050.

Tarmac

Tarmac has fully committed to supporting the UK’s ambition of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and is making progress across its business and supply chain, using a whole life-cycle approach to design CO₂ out of its products and services.

Tata Steel

Tata Steel is investing in decarbonisation technologies to deliver carbon neutrality by 2050.

Timber Development UK

A UK timber industry roadmap to net zero identifies the territorial and imported carbon emissions associated with timber and sets out what the industry needs to do to lower its carbon impact to reach Net Zero by 2050.

UK Steel

The UK steel industry sets out its vision for Net Zero transition.

VELUX

Velux has verified Science Based Targets in line with the Paris Agreement and is partnering with WWF to be a Lifetime Carbon Neutral company by 2041, i.e. to also compensate for all of its past historical emissions by tree planting.

voestalpine Metsec

We are working to meet the challenge of climate change by setting ourselves the goal of zero carbon emissions at voestalpine Metsec by 2035

Wavin

Wavin has set a goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Wienerberger

Wienerberger AG has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with an interim target to achieve a 15% reduction in emissions (kgCO₂e/m²) by 2023, from a 2020 baseline.