Currently, on average, every new home in the UK built with conventional extractive materials emits roughly 50 tonnes of fossil carbon, prior to use. Construction activities consume 40-50% of all extracted raw materials globally each yearand 20% of all plastic production^. At the same time, demolition accounts for between 30-40% of waste going to landfill or incineration. We believe ADEPT is part of this solution.

Over the past six months, Natural Building Systems has taken important steps towards improving digital integration in modular construction. As we conclude our project funded by the Smart Manufacturing Data Hub’s Digital Innovation Fund, we reflect on our key developments, lessons learned, and next steps in refining this approach to industrialised circular construction.

We are excited to announce that once again we will be taking over the bar at the Futurebuild 2025! This year we are joined by partners from across our collaborative research projects with displays around digital innovation and workshops about regenerative supply chains alongside showcasing products made from plants such as industrial hemp, miscanthus, wetland crops like typha and other natural materials.

Earlier this year, Chloe and Sam had the pleasure of spending a day with Professor Darryl Newport from University of Suffolk Sustainability Institute planting reeds and Typha on the Norfolk Broads as part of a project to revitalise our local wetland farming and benefit this region of ecological significance. Find out more about this and the new EU carbon removal framework, UK Net Zero Carbon Standard and our anniversary webinar.

Natural Building Systems is thrilled to share two milestones on our journey of pioneering sustainable construction innovation. We’re honoured to be named a finalist in the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Innovation Awards 2024 and to be participating in phase two of the Mayor of London’s Better Futures Net Zero Innovation Challenge where we’ve been partnered with Places for London.

Our Managing Director reflects on her experience in 2050 Accelerator program. The 2050 Accelerator is a national sustainability program based in Ireland, and hosted by Dogpatch Labs designed to connect startups with industry leaders, government, and academia to accelerate the transition to net-zero.

The UK has committed to ambitious ‘Net Zero’ targets to reduce CO2 emissions by 68% by 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, to combat climate change. Biomass materials and products in new construction could make a significant contribution to this goal. 

Incorporating hemp and other short cycle biomass into durable construction products offers transformational potential for the future of construction, so that buildings can become part of a solution to climate change, rather than part of the problem.

Natural Building Systems (NBS) is proud to announce that we have received the Digital Innovation Fund (DIF) Rapid Demonstrator Award from The Smart Manufacturing Data Hub.

Conventional construction suffers from chronic low productivity. There is a shortage of skilled labour, leading to cost inflation and delays. In the UK alone, the construction sector’s workforce has decreased by 273,000 since 2019. The sector is also responsible for the about 20-30% of all known serious occupational injuries2. Our goal is to meet these challenges with digitally manufactured construction.

Breathability in construction is sometimes confused with air permeability, but it’s important to think of these as two entirely separate things.

The principles of Circular Economy are central to how the carbon footprint and wider environmental impacts of the built environment can be reduced.

Our system targets operational net carbon neutral and negative embodied carbon, making efficient use of biogenic materials and circular design principles.

The fabric of construction is our most fundamental question; to be weighed against environmental impacts and examined in molecular detail.

Energy efficiency can be mistaken as meeting minimum levels of thermal insulation and air tightness. It needs to go beyond this to be effective.