TRENDS THAT WILL AFFECT BUILDING MATERIAL SUPPLIERS

Amid an economy reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and a brewing energy crisis, many businesses across the building materials industry are reorienting their strategies to adapt to current economic conditions and new ways of working.

Despite being an industry long driven by cost and the bottom line, changes such as new technologies and new consumer demands are highlighting the need for new go-to-market strategies. Building materials suppliers are now under pressure to create new value propositions that set them apart from the competition and deliver products and services to keep up with industry changes and new regulations.

Building material suppliers must adapt to changing demands to stay ahead of the curve in 2023. Here are five trends we believe will affect the industry in the years to come.

1 Increasing demand for sustainable and recycled materials

Increasing awareness of the damaging environmental impact of traditional building materials has led to a sharp demand for sustainable and recycled alternatives. This trend is driven by both consumer demand and new government regulations such as the Environmental Act 2021.

Receiving Royal Assent on 9 November 2021, the Environmental Act is the official post-Brexit framework for environmental governance in England. It enables the creation of legally-binding targets for air pollution, biodiversity, water quality and waste. You can expect these developments to add to the growth of the ‘green’ or sustainable building materials market, which Allied Market Research predicts will globally reach $511.2 billion in value by 2030 (a CAGR of 8.1% from 2021).

2 A shift towards circular economy models

An ongoing shift from linear to circular business models, which aim to reduce waste and improve resource efficiency, is driven by concerns about the environmental impact of traditional business models. Public Policy Note 06/21 now requires businesses applying for government contracts over £5 million to demonstrate their commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2050. Companies can demonstrate compliance with environmental regulations and bolster their ESG programme through our Verified Supplier service, designed to help showcase their compliance in up to 10 areas of risk management, including environmental management, health and safety and modern slavery.

3 Growing popularity of prefabricated construction

A Mordor Intelligence report forecasts the UK prefabricated buildings market to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2020 to 2025. The industry’s revenues, which hit £9 billion in 2019, are largely driven by growing investments in modular construction, where building / project components are manufactured off-site and assembled onsite, enabling faster construction times and improved quality control. This trend will likely continue to grow in the coming years, presenting both opportunities and challenges for material suppliers.

4 New regulations drive demand for safer materials

The Building Safety Act 2022 officially became law in June 2022. The law modifies the way high-risk structures are built, maintained and made safe, and includes reforms around fire safety and the quality of construction materials. The Act also establishes the National Regulator for Construction Products within the Office for Product Safety and Standards, tasked to conduct market surveillance to identify and remove unsafe materials more efficiently. The new watchdog also has the power to ‘confront poor practice’ and act against material providers that break the rules. Building material suppliers need to be aware of these legislative changes and plan for the direction of the market – one where consumers demand construction companies be held accountable for unsafe practices.

5 Shift towards digital fabrication methods

We predict that digital fabrication methods, such as 3D printing, will continue to grow and change the landscape of construction in 2023 and beyond. 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, enables the swift fabrication of complex structures using a variety of materials, ranging from plastic (the most popular) to metal and concrete. 3D printing offers exciting potential applications in the build materials industry. More recently, construction firms BAM and Weber Beamix attached a 3D-printed concrete staircase to a footbridge over the M8 motorway in Scotland. The staircase is believed to be the largest 3D printed structure in the UK and the firms claim its construction came at a lower carbon footprint cost.