Waterman Group Launches Materials Passports Framework

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09 November 2023

Waterman Group has launched its Materials Passports Framework to aid a "use less, waste less" approach in construction.

Having piloted the scheme at the Edenica office development at 100 Fetter Lane in London, Waterman Group is now ready to share its roadmap with the rest of the industry and encourage a UK-wide building materials stock database. 

The framework aims to create a database of information about a building, including the identity, specifications and performance data for materials, products and building elements. A Materials Passport will essentially act as a digital storage bank, enabling the circular reuse of building materials. It will also resolve the ambiguity around specification, performance and warranties of used materials.

Waterman hopes to make the Materials Passports Protocol an industry standard, as it aligns with the forthcoming Digital Product Passport (DPP) requirements under the proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) in the European Union's European Green Deal.

Waterman is working with software developer Circuland to deliver a platform to host the data, which can be linked directly with BIM models.

Mark Terndrup, Waterman's Managing Director for Building Services – South, said: "With the launch of our Materials Passports Framework, we aim to drive material circularity and kick-start the circular economy throughout the construction industry with a robust process any scheme can follow. 

“The impacts of the climate emergency are more prevalent than ever, and extending material lifespans is fundamental to minimising the embodied and whole-life carbon impact of development schemes across every sector."

Waterman’s Sustainability Associate, Anastasia Stella who led the development of Materials Passports at Edenica added: “It is hugely important that, as construction professionals, we continually try to advance and innovate to help tackle the climate emergency. Our Materials Passports initiative shows how even the simplest of concepts can create the potential for a significant reduction in whole-life carbon and optimise re-purposing of materials in the future.”

Picture: a photograph of a pyramid with several layers, demonstrating how the Materials Passport works. Image Credit: Waterman Group

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 09 November 2023

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