Bioregional has joined ResponsibleSteel as its newest Civil Society Member

Bioregional has been a leader in driving the transition towards more sustainable homes and communities, businesses and lifestyles for over 25 years.  This is put into practice through the One Planet Living framework, which was created from experiences of planning and working with partners to develop the multi-award-winning BedZED, the UK’s first large-scale eco-village in South London.

High sustainability standards in materials has been embedded in Bioregional’s wide portfolio of projects.  BedZED’s construction made use of a range of locally sourced and recycled materials.  Bioregional also co-wrote the sustainability strategy for the London 2012 Olympics, which saw ambitious targets met for recycling and re-use of demolition materials, and extensive repurposing of steel structures.

As a long-time partner of Kingfisher, Europe’s largest home improvement retailer, Bioregional has provided consultancy and action plans to help Kingfisher improve the sustainability of its range of products and materials.  This has been through setting standards across the product range, as part of Kingfisher’s Sustainable Home Products guidelines, as well as more concentrated efforts in areas such as cement and compost. In 2020, Bioregional was appointed by the UN Environment Program to develop a supplement on sustainable building materials, as part of its Eco-Innovation toolkit for SMEs. Bioregional aims to draw on these experiences of assessing impacts of building materials, helping to develop alternatives, and engaging the supply chain as a Civil Society member of Responsible Steel.

Stewart Muir, Sustainable Products Project Manager said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the efforts of Responsible Steel in setting improved sustainability standards for steel.  We see this as a valuable platform for encouraging real action by our partners and clients to drive forward decarbonisation of steel and help address a range of sustainability challenges, as well as tackling the climate emergency.”

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Bioregional as a civil society member. “ said Ali Lucas, Executive Director, ResponsibleSteel. “ Bioregional has a long and impressive track record in working across many projects, issues and sectors in the sustainability field, and I know that ResponsibleSteel, and our other members will benefit greatly from their deep knowledge and expertise.”