Background
Based in the heart of Warwickshire and founded in 1989, RMF Installation and Services Ltd (RMF) are nationwide suppliers and installers of raised access flooring. They have since grown to be a major contractor in the supply and installation of raised floors nationwide with a multimillion pound turnover.
Challenge
During the various lockdowns over the past 12 months, the world has learnt many lessons and the pause in most of our busy lives forced us to take stock of our current surroundings and what kind of a world we want post pandemic. How as a world we plan to recover both economically and socially, many argue should be fuelled by a renewed focus on sustainability.
One sector in particular that has often lagged behind the curve in terms of sustainability is the UK construction industry. A recent study by WRAP details that the sector uses 400 million tonnes of material every year, which results in 100 million tonnes of waste being produced. To put this in context, this level of waste in construction contributes over a third of the UK’s total yearly waste amount and 25 million tonnes of construction waste is destined for landfill.
However there is a marked rise in client driven desire for greener and more sustainable buildings and a push for keeping projects circular in terms of material exchange where possible. One organisation that has been leading the way in the field of circular economy initiatives is RMF Installation and Services Ltd. RMF have been actively involved in the circular economy for over 8 years thanks to their RMF Eco Range.
The Innovation
RMF noticed that due to the frequency with which buildings particularly office space were stripped out that raised flooring that remained fit for purpose was ending up in landfill due to being time consuming and costly to recycle sustainably. RMF work with a network of strip out and demolition contractors to identify flooring previously destined for landfill or machine shredding put with future potential for reuse.
Throughout the past 12 months RMF have noticed a significant demand for their Eco range and also for data around the sustainability credentials of their product. As such RMF committed to achieving and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for their RMF Eco Range, the EPD is an ISO recognised standard (ISO14025) that sets out a full life cycle assessment and a transparent reporting process for the sustainability credentials of the product. Despite being an SME with limited resources RMF realised the importance of this document in evidencing the sustainability of their product and further reducing barriers to reuse.
RMF were also recently recognised for their work in the circular economy and were awarded ‘Circular Economy Initiative 2020’ at the National Recycling Awards. As a business they are committed to encouraging clients and contractors to look at a more circular route to construction and they have some exciting plans to enhance their current offering in late 2021.
Slingshot