University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

Mr. Martin Clarke joined British Precast as Chief Executive in 2002 having previously worked
in Marketing and global business development for the ARC Group now Hanson from 1972-1990
and as Marketing Director for the British Cement Association form 1990-2002.
Dr. Hafiz Elhag is a Product Association Manager with British Precast. He previously worked as
an architect with Danish consultants COWI at the Sultanate of Oman and has completed an MSc
in Construction Management and a PhD on Lifecycle Assessment of Precast Concrete Flooring
from Loughborough University and The University of Reading respectively.
Prof. A.D.F Price has been involved in the field of construction Management at Loughborough
University for over 20 years. His current research interest includes strategic management,
sustainability and continuous performance improvement.
Introduction
Introduction
The sustainability discourse has become an integral part of UK government policies
over the years (DETR, 1999; DEFRA, 1999; DEFRA, 2005; CLG, 2008; BERR,
2008). Government, policy makers, engineers, architects, specifiers, designers,
clients and all stakeholders within the construction industry have recognised the need
for a major change in relation to the way sustainability is tackled within the
construction industry (BERR, 2008) and construction product manufacturers and
suppliers have been identified as crucial components of the supply chain (CPA,
2007). Hence, an increase in demand for more sustainable construction products is a
key part of the achievement of sustainable construction in the UK.
As part of this, the UK precast concrete industry’s sustainability programme aims to
achieve a more sustainable built environment through the use and reuse of precast
concrete products, measurement, improvements and promotion of the health and
safety performance of the sector, pollution/emission, waste and embodied energy
reduction, efficient minimisation of resource use (materials and water), productivity,
environmental impact reduction, supply chain management, stakeholder engagement,
auditing of key performance indicators and the respect for people and their
communities. However, the industry programme is ongoing and further work is
required to ensure that precast manufacturing is in line with, but ideally ahead of new
developments.
With this in mind, this paper provides an introduction to the UK precast concrete
industry, its sustainability programme ‘More from less’ and, specifically, a
discussion of the notion of product stewardship; it finishes with the case for a fullyfledged
product stewardship (PS) scheme for the UK precast concrete industry to
further improve its sustainability credentials.
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