SUSTAINABILITY
INNOVATION: THE KEY TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE?
Sustainability in the construction industry isn’t just about lowering factory emissions or using new-fangled products. Some long-standing sectors are making a difference to building in a better, more planet-friendly way, as BMJ finds out.
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rom flooding to fires and unexpectedly high temperatures, recent news events have highlighted the challenges our environment is facing. There’s growing pressure to take action, and the building sector is under particular scrutiny. Meeting an almost insatiable demand for homes, commercial buildings and national infrastructure, it’s a heavy user of raw materials and energy, and everyone involved has responsibility for taking both big and little steps to working more sustainably.
That’s according to . Bart Maris, Vice President Sales & Marketing EMEA at RWC, who says: “There’s no doubt that one of the most influential has also been one of the most simple - namely push-fit technology which delivers a big sustainability punch in a surprisingly small package.”
Push-fit technology was first introduced by John Guest, one of RWC’s flagship brands, way back in 1974, over a decade before the term ‘sustainable development’ was first used in a United Nations report. At the time, push-fit was in an entirely different sector, namely as a connection method for compressed air systems. Maris explains that push-fit quickly made its way into plumbing and heating, replacing the traditional and labour-intensive plumbing connections with a faster, simpler solution. “As time has passed, it’s become clear that quite apart from making the lives of plumbers easier, it’s also playing a big part in the sustainability agenda,” he says.
“As any installer knows, push-fit does precisely what it says: it fits together with a simple push. There are no blowtorches creating emissions and potential fire hazards. And there’s no need for cleaning agents either, reducing the use of chemicals. Looking even further down the chain, fuel for blowtorches, energy needed to make these products, waste disposal all comes down too, so the embodied carbon in push-fit in comparison with other methods is arguably much lower.” Maris says that the gains might be small in terms of the wider environmental picture, but they all add up across the world’s construction
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agenda – as does the ability of push-fit connections to protect precious resources. “Cutting down embodied carbon is the first big advantage, but, more critically than that is the enduring nature and constant innovation where push-fit really shines. Push-fit technology ensures efficient, leak-free connections, preventing the waste of valuable water, while also protecting other metal fixtures and fittings from rust and corrosion, both of which shorten service life,” he says.
The simplicity of the technology also means that other water saving devices - such as double check and shut-off valves – can be easily added. These mean that plumbers can isolate water supplies and carry out repairs without having to drain down an entire system. Like all good sustainable solutions, the technology is also fully future-proofed, so that any new innovations can be quickly introduced. It’s not all about water, either. Push-fit technology can be used with other fluids and even compressed air. This includes something close to the hearts of many British people – beer. In pubs and hospitality venues across the UK, John Guest’s PolarClean solutions use push-fit technology to help preserve and optimise beer at the right conditioning and temperature to minimise waste. “This ability to stretch to other uses and
applications is another great example of how push-fit technology is a truly sustainable innovation,” Maris says.
He adds that, what began life as a labour- saving device for the plumbing and heating industry has now taken on other lives in other sectors. “As well as being widely used in compressed air and drinks and dispensing equipment, you’ll find push-fit technology in fuel lines in automotive manufacturing, as well as in IT infrastructures, enabling solid connections and the reliable flow of data. “Equally, the lightweight nature of the technology is providing invaluable in helping reduce the mass of vehicles – a key factor in improving fuel efficiency as the world seeks ever more sustainable transport.”
Durability
Until quite recently, ‘disposability’ has been a feature of modern life, including in the built environment where the focus has been on low-cost solutions. As a result, the quality of products hasn’t always been great, in the knowledge that they could be replaced quickly and cost-effectively.
Today, with greater environmental awareness, the focus is firmly on durability and longer service life. Manufactured to exacting standards and tested rigorously in real-world
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net October 2021
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