Recycling Week 2022

According to the U.K. Green Building Council, the construction sector uses more than 400 million tons of material a year, many of which have an adverse impact on the environment, with the industry responsible for around 50% of all-natural resource extraction worldwide. 

In 2021, Bouygues Energies & Services, has put forward an ambitious climate strategy, where they pledged to take action across the entire value chain to reduce their carbon footprint.

One of the many ways Bouygues Energies & Services are looking to achieve this is by working collaboratively with their supply chain. They have teamed up with Supply Chain Sustainability School to educate and embed sustainability awareness with supply chain partners. Highlighting their strong commitment, they are partnering with companies who sustainably dispose of site wastage, with a partnership with - Community Wood Recycling. 

Community Wood Recycling is a network of social enterprises collecting and reusing waste wood in the most environmentally beneficial way while creating jobs and training for disadvantaged people. Their service is based on the principles of the circular economy; by saving wood, they are building a more sustainable society. The network promotes community reuse, one of the most powerful tools available to fight waste.

On their life sciences / pharmaceutical and data centre projects, Bouygues Energies & Services have used the Community Wood Recycling services and in return managed to save 40.5 tonnes of wood from the waste stream, 20 tonnes of CO2 and recycled 24.2 tonnes of wood with a further 16.3 tonnes used to make new items. 

“Not only Community Wood Recycling is a cheaper solution than putting waste timber into skips, but it creates jobs in the local community. They enable 100% of the timber to avoid landfill by being recycled. My target for 2022 is to continue making this a best practice on all our sites”, added Jerome Crespin, Head of Procurement at Bouygues Energies & Services.

Community Wood Recycling network provides opportunities to disadvantaged people with a way to build their confidence and self-esteem. They learn new skills and help them to overcome barriers to finding employment.