PreaDem Project

Despite the growing consciousness of the benefits circularity offers the construction industry, little work has been undertaken within the social housing sector. The PreaDem (Pre-demolition environmental assessment and Decision-Making) project aims to help the industry better realise reuse potential, improve circularity and reduce carbon in the refurbishment of the UK’s housing stock.

The project will undertake a feasibility study to determine how to measure the type and amount of materials, products and elements in UK housing and assess the best reuse pathways. At present this is achieved through pre-refurbishment and pre-demolition audits, which can be time consuming and often ineffective in reducing the carbon impact.

Currently, there is little focus on how circularity can be integrated into asset management decision making, which is largely driven by operational energy and cost needs and upgrading to meet carbon emission targets. Thus, there is a real need for PreaDeM support via a user-friendly platform that can enable better decision making about the future of housing assets. This includes whether buildings should be refurbished or demolished, the consequence this will have in terms of the materials arising and the carbon impact of this balanced with operational energy savings.

Partly funded by Innovate UK, the initiative is led by circular economy consultancy Reusefully working alongside partners Sustenic, an organisation focused on supporting housing and health professionals in the drive to net zero carbon, Cambridge Sustainable Design, who provide energy, carbon and waste reduction services and Salvo, for it’s reuse expertise and reclamation network.