Making construction more sustainable - the role of trade retailers

Sustainable construction and environmentally friendly building practices are more important than ever before. And every business in the construction trade industry needs to play its part in becoming more socially responsible.

Regulations on designing and building more energy efficient properties have become greater, especially for new build developments. By 2025, the UK government is setting out to make all homes highly energy efficient, zero carbon ready with low carbon heating. These homes are expected to produce 75-80% lower carbon emissions compared to current levels.

To ensure a greener, cleaner construction, it’s vital that, across the industry, companies build with renewable and recyclable resources and materials as well as using more eco-friendly tools. During any construction project, great or small, reducing waste and energy consumption where possible must be a key priority alongside using products that are kinder to the environment and safer to use.

The construction supply chain

For the construction sector to become truly sustainable, every partner in the supply chain ecosystem has a role to play. From housebuilders, developers and manufacturers to building consultants, procurement managers and suppliers, everyone involved in the sector must take responsibility. This includes builders’ merchants and trade supply retailers too, both large and small.

At U-PRO, a growing online retailer of construction and building trade tools, sustainability sits at the heart of business operations. The retailer is focused on working in more sustainable ways, especially with manufacturers and wholesalers, to adopt an eco-friendly ethos that shapes not just their actions, but the product range they provide to customers too.

Reducing waste

All our actions create a carbon footprint, which impacts negatively on the health of our planet. Reducing our carbon footprint can help combat climate change, reduce health risks, and stop wildlife extinction. This is why U-PRO is committed to reducing waste and using products that can either be recycled or are made from recycled or sustainable materials to prevent landfill waste.

Reducing plastic packaging use has been a key aim for the online trade retailer, which has moved to a bailing system that uses recyclable bands to hold pallets and parcels together instead of polythene wrapping. Not an easy feat as tools and supplies are often overwrapped in polythene, but switching to a recyclable packaging option was both more environmentally friendly and waste efficient.

More recycling, fewer waste collections

As U-PRO continues to reduce waste, it’s also focused on more sophisticated recycling initiatives which, in turn, have reduced the number of waste collections required, reducing fuel emissions too.

Eco friendly tools and supplies

As part of its commitment to becoming a sustainable business, U-PRO has worked closely with wholesalers to offer a wider range of eco-friendly tools and supplies to customers. The products in the eco-friendly section of the website use sustainable materials and are recyclable or have very little impact on the environment. Examples of these eco-friendly products include Trade Strip products such as multi-purpose paint strippers, a one-stop all round graffiti remover, a textured coatings remover (ideal for removing Artex® type coatings) and other specialist products like hand cleaners, glue removers and degreasers. The products are ideal for trade and industrial use and are solvent-free, created using revolutionary water-based technology that makes them substantially safer and much more environmentally friendly than traditional hazardous solvents.

Sustainable building and adopting an eco-friendlier approach to construction is possible - if everyone works together to achieve a shared goal of more socially responsible processes. The planet is our home and our responsibility. If we all take action to be more environmentally conscious, adopt cleaner ways of working and use eco-friendly products, we can all do our bit to help create a more sustainable world.