The Accelerating Material Re-Use in Construction (AMRUC) project will bring academia, practice and industry together to accelerate material re-use in construction, advocate deconstruction of existing buildings instead of demolition (avoid waste) to enable the integration of re-used material into the supply chain.

Embodied carbon in the construction phase of a building's life typically equates to 50%/70% of its total life cycle emissions. Therefore, the focus on embodied carbon is a fundamental step towards meeting the Net Zero targets defined by the UK government. Since 80% of buildings that will exist in 2050 have been already built, it is imperative that we make the most of the material already in existence and avoid exploration of raw materials. Re-use of construction materials is the most energy-efficient solution for a circular economy, ensuring material value is preserved as long as possible. The use of re-used materials in construction has the potential of reducing the embodied carbon of construction and could minimise the extraction and production of virgin materials as well as reducing construction waste.

Within this context, the AMRUC project aims to:
- Accelerate material re-use in construction by evaluating and optimising the use of Orms open source approach for material passporting (OMD);
- Identify the key barriers to material re-use in construction, define a way to reduce risk, increase life span, add value to existing materials and consider different stakeholder's perspectives;
- Produce a policy paper that provides clear recommendations to accelerate material re-use in construction, promote deconstruction and integrate re-used materials into the supply change;
- Disseminate best practices across architectural education, practice and industry to accelerate material re-use in construction and integrate re-used materials into the supply change.

The Accelerating Material Re-Use in Construction, uniquely combines the expertise of Dr Ana Costa (Architect, Researcher and Educator) from Imagination@Lancaster - an international leading research institution with the award-winning practice Orms, Designers and Architects ltd that has an extensive experience in Material Passporting and re-use of materials in construction. The research team will collaborate with the Accelerating Material Re-Use in Construction Group led by Orms and UKGBC Circular Economy working groups.