The Colemans team are delighted to have won the World Demolition Award for Recycling and Environmental for the second consecutive year, this time rewarding our continued efforts to maximise steel reuse from deconstruction projects.

Judges praised our ‘unwavering commitment to the circular economy’, which includes our pioneering ‘Emerald Steel’ approach, using proven methodologies to repurpose and reuse steel from deconstruction works into new construction projects.

It’s an unprecedented third World Demolition Award for Colemans in two years, after winning the same category as well as the ‘Best of the Best’ award in 2023. The prestigious awards form part of the World Demolition Summit, bringing together leaders from across the global demolition industry over two days.

This year’s event was held in Stockholm, Sweden, where our CEO Mark Coleman was a keynote speaker on ‘Modern Day Thinking’, looking at some of the innovations that are driving improvements across safety, wellbeing, performance and sustainability in demolition and deconstruction.  We received positive feedback, with many attendees enjoying and finding the presentation thought-provoking.

Showcasing our solution

The 2024 Recycling and Environmental award was handed to Colemans in recognition of a project billed as the world’s largest Emerald Steel initiative. 

When we were engaged by one of the world’s biggest technology companies to demolish a 90,000m² portal frame building in South Wales, we saw it as the perfect opportunity to showcase our circular economy commitment and demonstrate the viability of steel reuse.

The building was made of 4,500 tonnes of primary structural steel, of which 600 tonnes (13%) were repurposed and reused in the design of the new build structure on site.

In total, 89% of the steel removed from the original structure was deemed suitable for reuse and put back into the circular economy thanks to our pioneering approach, saving 6,774 tonnes of carbon compared with new steel. 

The cautious client initially hesitated to proceed with the project, however, our team’s successful execution of a unique proof of concept project, our wellbeing retreat in Ireland, demonstrated the viability of our approach and provided the necessary confidence to move forward.

Key to success

• Rigorous process: Careful planning, advanced technology, and stringent quality control measures were essential to ensuring the successful reuse of the steel.
• Innovative approach: The “Emerald Steel” method, a pioneering approach developed by Colemans, revolutionised the way steel is repurposed in the construction industry.
• Overcoming challenges: Despite initial scepticism from the client, Colemans’ previous successful projects, such as their wellbeing retreat in Ireland, demonstrated the viability of their approach and provided the necessary confidence to move forward.
• Industry leadership: This project has solidified Colemans’ position as a world leader in sustainable deconstruction, setting a new standard for responsible practices.

By prioritising sustainability and innovation, Colemans is not only reducing environmental impact but also driving significant cost savings and resource efficiency in the construction industry. You can read full details of the project here.

The judges said: “Colemans’ project demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the circular economy, earning it the judges’ admiration as a very worthy winner for its dedication to sustainability”.

Pride in our success

Mark Coleman said: “I can’t stress how proud I am that we have picked up this award for the second year running. We’ve worked tirelessly to investigate new methods and approaches that can help support a greener future and Emerald Steel is the pinnacle of those efforts, alongside a number of operational improvements and efficiencies.

“For every one tonne of steel reused, it saves 1.69 tonnes of carbon when compared with using new steel members. We saved 6,774 tonnes of carbon on the South Wales project alone, and we’ll continue to repurpose and reuse steel wherever possible.

“Global recognition in the World Demolition Awards is always a huge honour but to have been repeatedly recognised for environmental innovation in particular means so much. Finding new ways to reduce carbon is vital for the sector, the wider planet and for our own company targets, and we’re proud to be leading the industry.”