On Tuesday, June 18, BUILD UP hosted the third webinar, part of a series of six webinars organised by CircularB Action. The webinar, Stakeholder Webinar Series 3 – Investors, Developers and Insurance providers shredded light on successful projects and the challenges they face while implementing circular principles in the construction sector. The construction industry’s shift towards sustainable practices, innovation in materials, and digitalisation significantly mitigates the impacts of property development on the environment.

The webinar was structured into three sessions. It started with Francisco Rocha Antunes, CEO of MOME, who discussed the company's approach to developing sustainable and circular projects. Francisco mentioned MOME’s efforts in constructing new residential areas ‘our approach centres on placing people and the planet at the heart of their solutions, aiming to transform communities towards sustainable urban living’.

Challenges of transitioning to sustainable construction models

The second presentation focused on the positive environmental impacts of sustainable construction practices. Cristina Isabel de Melo Maia, Product Development Coordinator at Grupo CASAIS, emphasized the need for collaboration between design and product development. ‘We need to create an ecosystem between design and product design so that we can build faster, more comfortable, and cleaner buildings’.

Closing the event, Dominik Campanella, CEO of Concular, focused on the significance of establishing insurance coverage for secondary construction materials to level the playing field between new and reclaimed materials.

The webinar ended with a lively Q&A session, that explored the future of nature-based solutions (NBS) and sustainable urban development practices. The Guimarães project was also discussed as a potential model for other cities looking to adopt similar practices.