Consultancy Waterman Group has launched its Materials Passports Framework which sets a clear pathway to material reuse in the construction industry.

Materials Passports are digital data sets which describe characteristics of materials and components in products and systems, giving them value for present use, recovery and future reuse. Structured as a pyramid, the various levels of Passports aggregate and refine data, from capturing manufacturer-provided product details to presenting aggregated data for specific building element categories, whilst also offering holistic overviews of building performance against sustainability metrics.

Materials passports could provide a major step forward as the industry tackle its carbon reduction commitments, and the Framework presents the first standardised approach to documenting and managing materials throughout their lifecycle, providing a roadmap to create a comprehensive database of information, containing the identity, specifications and performance data for materials, products and building elements.

Waterman envisions the Materials Passports Protocol becoming an industry standard, driving collaboration and sustainability. Spearheaded by sustainability expert Anastasia Stella, with technical contributions from CIRCuIT project partners BRE, the Framework aligns with the forthcoming Digital Product Passport (DPP) requirements under the proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) in the EU's European Green Deal.

Mark Terndrup, Waterman's MD for building services – South, commented: "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."

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