Five ways Marshalls is supporting housebuilders to reduce carbon

Housebuilders are under immense pressure to prove they’re reducing the carbon footprint of new homes, driven by regulatory updates and environmental concerns. Whether it’s minimising the use of embodied carbon in building materials, reducing on-site emissions from machinery or cutting down on waste, housebuilders are analysing every level of their supply chain and paying closer attention than ever as to who they choose to work with.

At Marshalls, we’re aware of the challenges you face to prove you’re taking proactive steps to minimise carbon emissions and as one of your key suppliers, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to do so. From bricks and masonry to paving, roofing, solar panels, kerbs, drainage solutions, and street furniture, we provide an extensive range of landscaping, roofing, and building products designed to support sustainable housing developments.

Here are five ways we’re taking action to give you the reassurance that when you work with us, you’re working with a likeminded business focused on sustainability and carbon reduction.

1. Promoting the use of concrete bricks   

We’re always looking for ways we can help you make informed choices about which materials you’re using in your housing projects.

Recently, we updated the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for our concrete facing bricks to include cradle-to-grave analysis – rather than cradle-to-gate – assessing the full product lifecycle. As part of this process, we uncovered that for every tonne of concrete-facing bricks used instead of more traditional clay facing bricks, housebuilders could cut the total carbon lifetime footprint by almost half (49.1%)[1]. This equates to 116.50 kilograms of CO₂e per tonne of bricks.

When scaled to the total number of bricks used to construct homes during 2023— approximately 1.1 billion bricks[2]—the carbon footprint savings are substantial. If all dwellings built in the UK during 2023 had been constructed using concrete-facing bricks, the UK could have saved 214,057 tonnes of CO₂e. This is equivalent to removing 105,663 diesel cars off the road for a year – a reduction that could make a real difference in the fight against climate change.

Not only do they help with carbon saving, but our concrete-facing bricks have tonnes of other benefits, too. They provide thermal performance, fire resistance with a Euroclass A1 reaction to fire classification, and frost protection to the equivalent of a F2/S2 rating for clay bricks. They’re also manufactured to be a consistent size, aiding laying, while the mix design used for the bricks minimises risk of efflorescence, shrinkage and moisture movement.

Changing from clay-facing to concrete-facing bricks is an easy and achievable swap to make, and one which you now know will make a dramatic difference in your journey to reducing carbon.

2. Developing our suite of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)

We’ve seen a surge in demand for carbon information and data from customers who want a deeper understanding of what our product environmental performance is and what we’re actively doing to improve this over time.

We’ve already shared the great insights you can take from our updated concrete-facing brick EPD, but we aren’t stopping there. We’re updating and expanding our collection of EPDs across our entire Group product offering to improve our transparency, accountability, and specification support around the products we supply.

The development and availability of our EPDs, which include independently verified figures to support accreditations such as BREEAM, means we can help you make more considered choices, using robust, transparent data, so you can collate the necessary evidence needed for accreditations, and demonstrate your ongoing sustainability requirements.

3. Ongoing product innovation and sustainable engineering 

We’re committed to product innovation and particularly products that achieve significant carbon savings, which then supports you to meet the environmental requirements in your housebuilding projects, too. This year, we’ve made considerable advances in the products you might use for gardens and driveways.

For example, earlier this year we launched Modal X®, a lower-cost, lower-carbon alternative to granite paving that also boasts high durability and design flexibility. The product is available for driveways and access roads, meaning when you use it, you’re able to achieve a consistent look across an entire development while making carbon savings. Modal X® was the first new product range to be produced at our innovative dual block plant in St Ives, Cambridge, which is powered in part by solar energy. Plus, it uses a new state-of-the-art curing system which reduces carbon impact and speeds up curing times.

We’re also actively reducing the amount of cement in some of our concrete products, using recycled materials and trialling different mixes to lower carbon footprints. For example, Tri-blend is a highly optimised concrete mix which enables significant levels of cement substitutes to be used in our concrete block products without impacting aesthetics or performance. It’s allowed us to increase our cement replacement levels by around 60%, resulting in sizeable reductions in our product carbon footprint. We also use Carbon Cure Technologies at our Grove site to lock waste carbon into our concrete facing brick ranges. We’ve many more products in the pipeline which are being designed with the specific aim of bringing down carbon usage – so watch this space.

Furthermore, our expertise in pavement engineering allows us to create more carbon efficient build specifications that focus on the construction layers beneath the paved surface. For example, reducing subbase depths and using more efficient material specifications translates into carbon reduction, lower costs and less time spent on site. This approach can be employed for both standard block paving and permeable block paving applications.

So, by ensuring these products and processes are used in the external designs of new build properties, you can be reassured you’re making a conscientious choice when it comes to carbon.

4.  British-made products combined with a circularity strategy

Our mission to actively reduce carbon and improve our environmental footprint doesn’t end with our products – it spans our manufacturing and operational processes, too. 

For example, over 96% of our products are British-made. By manufacturing most of our products in our sites across Britain, we’re keeping fuel consumption emissions to a minimum whilst being able to deliver to customers more quickly. Plus, across our UK sites, 74% of our electricity comes from renewable sources, and we have solar arrays in place at three of our manufacturing sites and five sites in total.

Resource conservation and circularity are also key focuses for us. We currently divert over 99% of our waste from landfill so we’re well on the way to achieve our zero waste to landfill target by 2030. Some of the ways we’re doing this are by reusing 100% of the wet clay used in our clay production processes and recycling our concrete production waste across all our relevant sites. In addition, 100% of our concrete products are recyclable at the end of their life.

We promote pallet recovery, and to help make it easier and cheaper for our customers, Marshalls has a deal in place with Scott Pallets Recovery Service. It ensures that any reusable Marshalls and Marley pallets that are still in good condition can be collected from existing customers free of charge, then repaired and returned for reuse.

Our initiative to reduce plastic packaging is another key part of our strategy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. For example, since 2015, we’ve reduced the thickness of our plastic stretch and shrink packaging by 30% without compromising safety, strength, or product integrity. We’ve reduced the amount of plastic packaging used for our domestic concrete block products by 32%, by 60% for most of our commercial concrete block products, and by 20% for our kerbs and edgings. Additionally, the plastic packaging we use now contains at least 30% recycled content.

We’re continually exploring new ways to reduce carbon emissions, so that we can pass those reductions on to you and make a huge difference to your developments and help you meet your business sustainability goals.

5. Transforming our own operations

We know that scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions will likely make up the majority of your carbon footprint, so to ensure we can help you bring that figure down, we’ve made our own net-zero commitment.

Earlier this year, we announced that our near and long-term carbon reduction pathways and ultimate target to be net-zero by 2050  have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Our near-term targets are to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50.5% by 2030 and reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by 37.5% by 2033. Our long-term net-zero targets, to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by at least 90% by 2040 and reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by at least 90% by 2050, have also been validated.

The SBTi is a global, collaborative initiative aiming to boost innovation and drive sustainable growth by setting ambitious, science-based emissions reduction targets. It is seen as the gold standard when it comes to setting carbon net-zero targets and pathways, and it was important for us to achieve this recognition with an organisation of such calibre because it’s a clear demonstration of our absolute commitment to become a more sustainable business.

We know it’s important to demonstrate how our activities, processes, systems and supply chain will achieve net-zero, but what’s vital to us is ensuring the steps we take have a positive knock-on effect to your business. To achieve our Scope 3 emissions near-term and long-term targets, we’ll be working closely with our own suppliers – particularly those who supply cement – to explore the technologies and innovations available to decarbonise our supply chain. We’ll continue to share our progress with you, so you’re always in the know.

We’re ambitious with our carbon reduction strategy, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s a commitment we make to you, our customers. Our aim is to work in true partnership with housebuilders to ensure we’re working towards the same objectives and travelling on the same journey together.

You can find out more about how we can support your sustainability journey with our products and services here.