Proud to be a part of Carbon Literacy Action Day '22

The CLAD initiative concluded on Monday 7th November. A day designed to bring many more members on board the Carbon Literacy Trust’s (CLT) education drive to mobilise more action in high carbon contributing industries with a global community of almost 44,000 graduates.

The construction companies committing to the CLT movement with Hattrick included sustainable timber panel manufacturer, Medite SmartPly; world energy leader, GE Capital; and Passivhaus architectural firm, Architype.

Hattrick’s one-time offer to take shortlisted ASPB members through the training for free, in support of CLAD, attracted a number of sustainable SMEs including Smet Building Products, Cleveland recycled steel solutions, Sisaltech green fibre insulation and Edward Bulmer natural paint.

As ASPB members these firms are already clearly invested in bringing environmentally better solutions to market and the discussion throughout made clear that impressive in-roads are already being made.

Sisaltech, for example, is embracing true circular economy thinking by adapting its business model to use waste rather than virgin materials. The company now uses post-production wool waste from the Harris Tweed and wool carpet making industries. As well as sisal fibre obtained from shredding coffee sacks that otherwise would have gone to landfill.

It was also interesting to hear of the challenges faced along the way and, more so, the opportunities, the group felt, that could be pursued through collaboration.

A call for greater transparency was a common theme across the two half day sessions. The small team behind Northern Ireland’s Smet Building Products has invested heavily in EPD certification for its new flooring product baseTherm®.

Absorbing a cost seen as prohibitive to a lot of green start-ups, in the interests of industry progress and as a basis for useful comparison. A time intensive move that, Smet says, is now paying off because of growing specifier demand for building products that have been through the process. So much so, they are planning more EPD certifications with the IGBC (Irish Green Building Council).

Part of the rationale behind certification is to gain competitive advantage but to also offer genuine choice. Cleveland Steel & Tubes Ltd welcomes more competition, in order to break down the traditional barriers holding the steel industry back from making the impact it could and should be doing. The firm believes that this would create a larger pool of reclaimed materials, which in turn would ensure that reusing steel becomes a mainstream activity. Something Cleveland Steel & Tubes have been doing for nearly 50 years already.

Though the manufacture of steel is notoriously carbon intensive, the integrity of the metal is such that there are many more opportunities to utilise repurposed stock than is currently being explored. A shocking revelation given that only 1% of building elements in North West Europe are being recycled, according to the resource and materials efficiency group, FCRBE.

But by learning from each other and being bold enough to take the lead where companies do stack up on sustainability, the course concluded on an optimistic high. As the day was all about empowering the environmentally minded among us to, not only strive to be better, but to help spread the word and spur peers into taking steps that will, ultimately, make a difference on the ground.

Congratulations to all our fellow Carbon Literate comrades this Climate Literacy Action Day. We’re in this together!