How can a picture of a tree make us imagine the future? How can we inspire young people to imagine challenges and opportunities facing the community, in 10+ years’ time? How can we use technology to galvanise discussions with leaders in the community?

These are some of the questions I have explored over the past six months as part of STEaPP’s Co-Design Lab. Working closely with Associate Professor and founder of the Lab, Nidhi Chaudhary, our ambition was clear – test out and integrate creative, community-led and innovative methods for co-designed local policy engagement and solutions.

Our Newham Futures Partnership

The Lab partnered with the London Borough of Newham to launch their Partnership Innovation Lab and inform the development of a future vision for the Borough. This has been developed as part of our ongoing strategic relationship and MoU supported by the work of the Vice-Provost (Strategy) Office and the Pro-Provost (London) Office. Our objective was to co-create a series of workshops which were playful and engaging for community members and would enable them to explore what a ‘future vision’ for their Borough could be.

Transforming futures thinking

Imagining what the future might look like however, is not always easy. It can be difficult for people to break away from short-term thinking, what may happen just in the next year or two. It can also be difficult to separate enough from day-today challenges, in order to think positively about the future, or to make suggestions to others about what the future might look like – when there are so many unknowns.

There are multiple futures techniques and strategic foresight methodologies which, when carefully employed, can help overcome these challenges and help people from all backgrounds think collectively about the future. When co-designing the first Newham workshop we opted to use the ‘Futures Triangle’ method, which supports participants to consider the past, present and future in a structured way – allowing for diverse perspectives and viewpoints to be bought together.

We aimed to make the futures triangle exercise as engaging as possible and ensure it didn’t feel overly academic to the participants – which included council members, academics, young people, residents, policymakers and more. We kept instructions simple and clear, broke down tasks and offered support from trained facilitators, and allowed sufficient time in the agenda to properly explore different concepts.

We were constantly asking ourselves, ‘how would [x type of person] interact with and interpret this activity and our instructions?’ and ‘how could we be creative with technology to make the workshop more engaging and fruitful?’

We transformed the points of the futures triangle – weight of the past, push of the present and pull of the future – into the tree’s roots, trunk and leaves. The tree became a metaphor for time; roots holding us in the past and the present pushing up towards a future that is branching out into endless possibilities.

Participants then shared their ideas, pinning thoughts and key discussion points on post-it notes to the tree – creating a poster that captured all their ideas, from the past, present and to the future. Our next goal during this activity, was to transform these ideas into pragmatic action-points that would translate into local policy impact.

Getting creative with technology – AI-assisted visioning

Exploring creative and innovative ways to bridge the gap between community perspectives, academic insight and meaningful policy impact is a core ambition of the Lab. For this workshop, we opted to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) with community-led discussions. Our methods were adapted to ensure those who were unfamiliar with or uneasy toward such technologies felt confident their voices were heard whilst also ensuring integrity and security of their personal experiences.

To support this, we began by upskilling our facilitators on the AI tool itself, recognising that many of participants including local policymakers and young people, may be unfamiliar with the technology’s capabilities. During the workshop, we carefully explained how the AI was being used, what information it was synthesising, and how the participant’s identities and privacy were being safeguarded. This transparency was essential in building trust and ensured that everyone, regardless of prior knowledge or experience with AI technologies, felt confident and included in the process.

To bring AI-assisted visioning to life, our facilitators fed key discussions from the futures ‘tree’ exercise into an AI tool to generate 10-year future vision statements in real-time. At the end of the workshop, we shared back these statements with participants, including one on ‘sustainable futures’ for Newham:

“To empower Newham’s diverse communities—especially its youth—to co-create a greener, more inclusive future through education, collaboration, and sustainable innovation.”

Participants, particularly those with limited AI-knowledge or experience, were intrigued and impressed by the speed, creativity and precision with which AI distilled the entire workshop’s discussions into a single sentence. Seeing AI in action and bringing participants’ ideas to life created a real sense of local policy impact and engagement – cue some answers to the questions at the start of this piece.

Elevate Workshop: Voices of Tomorrow: Visioning Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP)

In our next project, the Lab worked closely with members of Elevate and colleagues from the London Legacy Development Corporation to design a workshop for young people from two Boroughs in QEOP – Newham and Tower Hamlets.

Elevate is a youth leadership programme based at QEOP, focused on amplifying young people’s voices and creating more inclusive, accessible futures. It was an apt choice for the Lab to partner with Elevate:

“Elevate is designed for young people, by young people, made up of a collective of young people who use their unique lived experience to drive innovation, shape change and elevate futures.”

We worked collaboratively for several months to design and deliver this workshop which would give young people the opportunity to discuss their current experiences of living, working and travelling in the park, as well as future ambitions of the area.

Like the Newham project, and aligned to the mission of the Lab, we wanted to make this workshop fun and a creative experience for participants. The participants primarily fell in the age bracket of 16-21, so the activities we designed had to be designed by young people, for young people.

From our first icebreaker activity, ‘Hot takes’ on whether pineapple should go on pizza, we maintained a goal of making the workshop as entertaining as possible.

We used large print outs of maps of the QEOP, post it notes, and bike stickers to represent their journeys in and around the area – and photo postcards to represent their experiences. These visual aids were also useful in prompting the young people to think about different ideas, whilst also creating a living artefact of their community.

Engaging with these young people in futures-style activities, gave way for unique perspectives. The exercise was relatable, digestible; the participants could not only map out their journeys, but also visually see where others were coming from (literally and figuratively).

When re-imagining the future of QEOP, the young people wanted greater opportunities to interact with the environment and the community. Key ideas for QEOP they raised included:

• Increasing community-run events for young people in the park and using social media in creative ways to communicate these opportunities more broadly
• Supporting safety and crime prevention initiatives (including lighting, transport and visibility of community safety personnel) to increase young people’s engagement with the area
• Creating spaces that foster inclusion and celebrate the diverse cultures of local communities.

Final thoughts

As the Lab continues to evolve, I am excited to see what comes next as the vision develops and more community-based projects kick off. It has been an insightful project thus far; through creativity, collaboration and commitment to inclusive engagement I feel community members, young people and local policymakers have thoroughly felt a sense of impact and just how effective co-designing solutions can be.

More broadly, I have been left with a few lasting reflections:

• Co-design and local policy engagement go hand in hand – when local communities are invited to the table, policy outcomes are more relevant, real and enduring.
• Communities appreciate and enjoy shaping the policies that affect them – active involvement through workshops, consultation and conversation results in feeling more connected to policymakers and decision-making processes.
• Adapted ‘futures’ methods and techniques can be just as powerful – whether centring youth in the workshop design process or using a metaphorical tree, creative tools can unlock unique insights and enhance traditional futures methods. Futures methodology isn’t just one-size-fits-all, it should be pragmatic to the audience’s needs and tailored accordingly.
• Innovative methods, when used thoughtfully, can increase stakeholder participation and engagement– using AI to reflect back ideas and perspectives in real time helped increase impact and spark curiosity.

If you would like to work with the Co-Design Lab and/or get involved with STEaPP’s policy engagement activities, you can contact us here – get involved!

Acknowledgements

Written by Rhiannon Van Vliet, Policy Advisor at the Policy Impact Unit. Rhiannon provides policy engagement advice and opportunities to all members of STEaPP. Rhiannon has a background in strategic foresight and futures thinking and has contributed to toolkits on AI for Knowledge Exchange developed by the PIU (see here).

With thanks to Jen Reed, Head of the Policy Impact Unit for her valuable support and comments throughout the writing of this piece.

A final note to say thank you to the Lab’s partners on these projects – the Newham Council, Tower Hamlets Council,  Elevate and London Legacy Development Corporation – for their collaboration, support and engagement.

Authors: Anca Tacu, UCL STEaPP Policy Impact Unit; Salomé De Sa Magalhaes, UCL Biochemical Engineering; Colin Brown, UK Health Security Agency; Marcello Gelormini, WHO Regional Office for Europe; Duygu Dikicioglu, UCL Biochemical Engineering; Patty Kostkova, UCL Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction

Context: At the end of July, VaxHub Global and VaxHub Sustainable, together with the UCL Policy Impact Unit brought together expert voices from the World Health Organization (WHO), the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and UCL at the 10^th Digital Public Health Conference (DPH 2025) in Madeira to explore how vaccine innovation and health surveillance systems can help to tackle antimicrobial resistance – one of the most pressing public health threats of our time.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a rapidly growing public health threat directly responsible for 1.3 million deaths annually, with projections showing over 39 million people could die from antibiotic-resistant infections by 2050[1]. In the UK alone, over 35,000 lives are lost each year due to infections that no longer respond to treatment and this number is predicted to increase to 184,000 by 2050 [2][3]. Without immediate action, AMR will not only pose an increased risk to people’s lives, but it will also have severe social and economic consequences, leading to global annual GDP losses of $1.7 trillion over the next 25 years[4]. Despite its clear urgency, AMR remains under-prioritised, underfunded and technically constrained, especially in places where the threat is most acute.

At the heart of the problem lies a paradox: we know AMR is a growing threat, but we lack the tools to track it and address it effectively. Diagnostic technologies to inform the right treatment are expensive, and often inaccessible in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where resistant infections are most prevalent.

In this context, cuts to overseas aid funding, like the recent scrapping of the Fleming Fund – through which UK supported LMICs to take action against drug resistance through improved surveillance systems and capacity-building – have been strongly criticised for being short-sighted and weakening long-term efforts to tackle this global crisis.

Strengthened AMR surveillance systems are crucial for identifying and assessing the spread of AMR; if we don’t measure the problem, we can’t manage it effectively. Collaborative efforts like the CAESAR network, EARS-Net and the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS) have helped to harmonise data collection and create a clearer picture of resistance patterns and trends.  By making AMR more measurable and reportable, surveillance can help to tell us not only where to act but also how prevention strategies like vaccinations can ease the burden on resistance.

Vaccines are a powerful yet underappreciated tool in combatting AMR. Vaccines reduce infections and antibiotic use by preventing the infection from happening in the first place, which limits opportunities for resistance to develop. Strategic investment in vaccines could reduce global antibiotic use by up to 22%, avoiding 2.5 billion daily doses every year[5]. Nonetheless, historical overreliance on antibiotics has narrowed our response options to fight infections, and alternatives to antibiotics, including vaccines, have not benefitted from adequate investment.

So why do vaccines remain overlooked when it comes to AMR? This is a multifaceted issue; to start with, vaccines against AMR suffer from a conceptualisation issue. Vaccines are usually associated with protecting from viral illnesses whereas vaccines against bacterial illnesses are mainly seen in connection to childhood diseases (e.g. pneumococcal vaccine). It is challenging to articulate the need to have vaccines later in life which prevent against drug-resistant bacteria causing illnesses which may not be perceived as a significant risk by most people (e.g. bacteria that causes a persistent urinary tract infection).

Another difficulty is the development and manufacturing of vaccines against bacteria causing the most critical illnesses (e.g. E. coli) due to several reasons including diversity of strains, additional precautionary measures needed when undertaking AMR research and the need to find the right groups of people to carry out clinical studies.

These challenges are amplified by increased vaccine hesitancy fuelled by social media misinformation, which has put at risk the success of vaccines in preventing diseases. At the same time, not enough has been done to counter vaccine hesitancy by public health professionals and scientists.

Harnessing Innovation and Collaboration to Tackle AMR

AMR knows no borders. Resistant pathogens travel with people, goods, and animals. Weakening global surveillance and response mechanisms poses a direct threat to the NHS, to national and global public health, and to the safety of future generations. To effectively confront complex public health challenges like AMR, we must embrace a comprehensive approach which combines technological innovation with public engagement, institutional capacity and political will.

Health surveillance systems are foundational. They enable us to quantify and monitor threats, making the role of tools like vaccines more visible and helping to overcome the “paradox of prevention”, where success leads to complacency. Vaccine platform technologies, such as mRNA and viral vectors, offer scalable solutions to vaccine manufacturing bottlenecks and can be rapidly adapted to emerging pathogens.

Equally vital is the integration of digital public health tools and citizen science. These approaches create space for creativity and shift the paradigm from passive information delivery to active public involvement. Citizens become agents of change, not just recipients of guidance from public health professionals and could actively contribute to fighting misinformation on social media.

Technological solutions, such as vaccine platform technologies or the recently announced AI-designed antibiotic targeting superbugs[6], offer hope. But technology alone is not sufficient. Tackling AMR requires an effective stewardship culture including responsible prescribing, public education, and regulation of antibiotic use in farming and agriculture, and which is reinforced through policy leadership and civic engagement. Any solution, whether data-driven, pharmaceutical, or digital, must be embedded within a framework of global cooperation and local accountability rooted in human commitment.

References

[1] https://unric.org/en/the-global-threat-of-antimicrobial-resistance-a-silent-pandemic/

[2] https://appgamr.com/dr-beccy-cooper-mp-amr-must-be-in-the-national-security-strategy-to-strengthen-public-health-resilience/

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jul/20/superbugs-could-kill-millions-more-and-cost-2tn-a-year-by-2050-models-show

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jul/20/superbugs-could-kill-millions-more-and-cost-2tn-a-year-by-2050-models-show

[5] https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240098787

[6] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgr94xxye2lo

On Wednesday 11^th June, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves unveiled the first spending review under the current Labour Government. The SR is a major milestone in the UK’s economic calendar, setting out the Government’s spending priorities in the coming years. It covers department budgets through to 2028/29 and capital investment plans to 2029/30.

Research from UCL’s Faculty of Engineering Sciences (FES) has highlighted the growing need for targeted support in key areas that can help accelerate the transition to net zero. This includes optimising our energy sources by making better use of waste, increasing resilience to extreme heat and climate impacts, enabling a circular economy by prioritising resource efficiency, and investing in sustainable AI development to curb rising electricity demand from data centres. With targeted funding and support, these areas could unlock the changes needed to deliver climate goals. In this vein, we set out below some key SR announcements related to the circular economy, net zero and climate action – reflecting on how far these will go in delivering the change needed.

Big boost for nuclear, energy efficiency and low-carbon energy infrastructure

From home insulation to nuclear power and green technology, the Government has made its position clear in the spending review – energy and decarbonisation are a priority. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), secured a 16% boost in overall departmental spending – more than any other department[1][2]. The SR has emphasised that the increase is essential to securing “the UK’s electricity system with homegrown, clean power by 2030”[3].

Major investments include

• £14.2bn to build the Sizewell C nuclear plant, jointly owned by the UK Government and EDF Energy, which will help to deliver an estimated 10,000 new jobs, including 1,500 apprenticeships and power the equivalent of six million homes[4][5].
• £2.5bn for the development of small modular reactors (SMR’s) in partnership with Rolls Royce. SMRs are smaller-scale nuclear plants typically faster,and in theory cheaper, to construct than traditional plants[6].
• £2.5bn to build a world-first prototype fusion power plant, on the site of a former coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire, as part of the government funded STEP STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production)
• £9.4bn for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, including support for Shell’s Acorn project in Aberdeenshire and Harbour Energy’s Viking project in Humberside[7].
• £13.2bn for the Warm Homes Plan to improve energy efficiency in homes, as set out in Labour’s manifesto.

Clean energy will be central to the UK’s future growth and resilience, and the additional investment into carbon capture and storage technologies is particularly welcome given the crucial role of these technologies in blue hydrogen production and sustainable energy from waste generation. Looking ahead, there is an opportunity to transform waste into a zero – or even negative – emissions energy source, contributing to the actual removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, and providing a supply of clean energy[8]. These innovative processes are already under development at UCL, and have shown how waste can be transformed into higher value products such as aviation fuel and biogas, making them powerful tools on the path towards net zero.

Alongside this, there is a need to focus on sustainable AI systems development – given the UK’s ambition to become an AI superpower and the legally binding target to reach net zero by 2050. The SR’s prioritisation of Research and Development funding, and investment in a new supercomputer in Edinburgh; are both important steps in progressing the UK’s position as an AI leader. However, a focus on energy efficient, alternative computing systems like neuromorphic computing – where the UK already has considerable academic expertise – is needed. We look forward to more detail on how the UK plans to consolidate its computing power in the upcoming Compute Strategy.

Investment in flood defences welcome, but broader heat and flooding still needed

As climate-related impacts such as flooding intensify, enhancing the resilience of the UK’s infrastructure is critical. Flooding causes significant damage and infrastructure investment needs to be targeted to alleviate high risk areas. Thus, the Chancellor’s £4.2bn commitment to build and maintain flood defences over the next three years is an important step forward.

However, heat adaptation received little attention in the SR – despite costing the UK’s economy an estimated £260-300million per year, leading to service disruption, overheating and excess deaths[9]. A recent inquiry by the Environmental Audit Committee has shown the need for a comprehensive national heat resilience strategy and a national cooling action plan to increase the UK’s preparedness to a changing climate. This can be done by investing in cooling systems that support decarbonisation and don’t rely on energy consumption – such as nature-based solutions that provide effective cooling while also delivering co-benefits for health, wellbeing and biodiversity.

Waste management and circular economy received little attention

The Spending Review made surprisingly limited reference to waste management or circular economy initiatives. The most notable commitment is funding for local authorities to deliver Simpler Recycling as part of the Collection and Packaging waste reforms to help boost recycling across the UK.

As our recent policy brief has shown, adopting circular economy approaches is essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, preserving scarce and critical raw materials and increasing the resilience of our supply chains, particularly in high-emitting sectors such as construction. This includes investing in the underlying infrastructure to make reuse and reduce possible such as marketplaces for secondary, recycled or surplus materials. Research from the Circular Economy Centre for Construction Materials (ICEC-MCM) has highlighted how fiscal incentives need to align with circular economy goals to support a green transition – for example, the current lower rate of Landfill Tax at just c. £3 per tonne, does little to discourage cheap disposal of inert materials. The current HM Treasury consultation on reform of Landfill Tax therefore presents a valuable opportunity to align fiscal incentives with circular economy goals, and support materials to move up the waste management hierarchy.

Final Thoughts

The 2025 Spending Review marks a promising step toward making the UK’s net zero ambitions a reality, particularly through its investment into clean energy and low-carbon infrastructure. However, it is essential that policy design and the delivery of major initiatives – such as planning reform – are approached in a way that fully embeds circular economy principles to genuinely support environmental goals. The forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy being developed by the Circular Economy Taskforce, will set out plans to reduce waste across key sectors of the economy and improve resource efficiency. We look forward to seeing the strategy and supporting its delivery and implementation.

 

Acknowledgements

Written by Aleyna Prokudina, Policy Adviser at the Policy Impact Unit.

With thanks to Rupen Kalsi, Policy Adviser, and Poli Pencheva, Research Manager for their valuable support and comments throughout the writing of this piece.

References

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2025-document/spending-review-2025-html
2. https://www.carbonbrief.org/uk-spending-review-2025-key-climate-and-energy-announcements/
3. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/11/spending-review-2025-who-are-the-winners-and-losers
4. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/12/reeves-review-shows-labour-plans-to-take-on-the-right-over-net-zero
5. https://gridbeyond.com/spending-review-key-climate-and-energy-announcements/
6. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10276/
7. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rolls-royce-smr-selected-to-build-small-modular-nuclear-reactors
8. https://www.upstreamonline.com/carbon-capture/uk-announces-backing-for-two-new-carbon-capture-projects/2-1-1831462
9. https://www.politico.eu/article/great-british-energy-budget-small-modular-reactors-nuclear-power/
10. https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/farm-policy/spending-review-defra-funding-higher-than-expected
11. https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/turning-up-the-heat/#:~:text=The%202022%20heatwaves%20were%20associated,260%E2%80%93300%20million%20per%20year.
12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YNZEG_coO4
13. https://labour.org.uk/change/make-britain-a-clean-energy-superpower/
14. https://resource.co/article/spending-review-sidelines-waste-resources-sector-defra-faces-major-budget-cuts
15. https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/4-key-benefits-advanced-small-modular-reactors
16. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38000195/
17. https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/43103/documents/214494/default/
18. https://www.sepa.org.uk/regulations/waste/waste-electrical-and-electronic-equipment-weee/
19. https://www.upstreamonline.com/carbon-capture/uk-announces-backing-for-two-new-carbon-capture-projects/2-1-1831462

Footnotes

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/12/reeves-review-shows-labour-plans-to-take-on-the-right-over-net-zero

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/11/spending-review-2025-who-are-the-winners-and-losers

[2] https://www.carbonbrief.org/uk-spending-review-2025-key-climate-and-energy-announcements/

[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2025-document/spending-review-2025-html#growth-and-clean-energy

[4] https://www.essexchambers.co.uk/thousands-of-jobs-created-as-sizewell-c-investment-announced/#:~:text=10%2C000%20jobs%2C%20including%201%2C500%20apprenticeships,’golden%20age’%20of%20nuclear 

[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thousands-of-jobs-to-be-created-as-government-announces-multi-billion-pound-investment-to-build-sizewell-c#:~:text=The%20equivalent%20of%20around%20six,and%20kick%2Dstarting%20economic%20growth

[6] https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/4-key-benefits-advanced-small-modular-reactors

[7] https://www.upstreamonline.com/carbon-capture/uk-announces-backing-for-two-new-carbon-capture-projects/2-1-1831462

[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38000195/

[9] https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/turning-up-the-heat/#:~:text=The%202022%20heatwaves%20were%20associated,260%E2%80%93300%20million%20per%20year.

The UK Government’s recent planning reforms, announced on December 12, 2024, aim to tackle the country’s ongoing housing crisis by delivering 1.5 million new homes over the next five years. The new reforms include mandatory targets requiring councils to build 37,000 homes annually, a focus on brownfield sites for development, and revisions to greenbelt boundaries.

This signals the start of one of the largest development projects in the country’s history – an extraordinary opportunity for the UK to not only deliver much-needed housing, but to embed sustainability into every stage of the construction process.

So how do we balance the urgent need for more homes with protecting the environment and biodiversity? Construction projects often come with a high environmental impact, from high carbon emissions to resource depletion and waste generation. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to embed circular economy (CE) practices into the planning, design, and construction of new homes. This way, we can ensure that growth doesn’t come to the detriment of the UK’s natural environment.

What is the Circular Economy?

The circular economy is a model of production and consumption where materials are kept at a higher value for longer through processes like reuse, recycling, and refurbishment[1]. It is the opposite of the linear model or “take, make, dispose”, where raw materials are extracted and eventually thrown away, without fully considering their reuse potential[2][3]. In construction, integrating CE practises could include using recycled building materials, refurbishing existing buildings, and designing homes to be adaptable and reusable at the end of their lifecycle. This can help preserve valuable resources and extend the lifespan of buildings, while reducing carbon emissions and waste.

Making the most of valuable resources  

One way to mitigate the impact of new building projects is to maximise the use of existing resources. For example, making pre-development audits mandatory in all development projects can provide an understanding of how products and materials will be reused prior to demolition or redevelopment of the site[4]. Eco-design solutions – such as lean structural elements that avoid excess material or using lighter-weight materials, and adaptable building layouts – can also reduce the environmental footprint of construction projects. At the moment, up to 20% more material is used, than is actually needed.

The UK Government can also play a key role in the development and establishment of secondary material markets (SRM), which allow existing products to “re-enter the product value chain”, thereby reducing dependency on new resources[5]. This can give businesses and customers the assurance to use these materials with confidence, knowing they meet safety and quality standards.

Consideration must also be given to repurposing of existing buildings. With over 600,000 empty homes recorded in England, there is a significant opportunity to refurbish and retrofit unused buildings, rather than constructing new ones. This approach would save valuable materials, reduce embodied carbon, and cause less disruption to local neighbourhoods and wildlife.

Protecting Biodiversity 

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries globally. While the Government’s reforms are focused on meeting housing targets, they risk pushing for new homes on greenbelt land – designated areas around towns and cities aimed at preventing urban sprawl[6]. To avoid negative impacts on greenbelt land, sustainable planning must prioritise protecting valuable green spaces and incorporating green infrastructure, such as parks, trees, and green roofs, into developments.

Employing Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) can be part of the solution. MMC involves off-site manufacturing of building components, which can then be rapidly assembled on-site causing less disruption to local ecosystems and habitats.

Preserving Construction Soil

As the foundation upon which all buildings are constructed, soil is essential for food production, mitigating climate change, reducing floods and droughts, and absorbing vast amount of carbon[7]. In England, over 50% of construction soil waste in England ends up in landfills, despite in many cases, being safe for reuse. The UK can preserve, not throw away, this precious resource by adopting a new Soil Reuse and Storage System. This would ensure that only soils that are irretrievably contaminated or cannot be immobilized should be considered waste. This shift would prevent valuable, inert soils from being unnecessarily disposed of, and would encourage the reuse of healthy soils.

Achieving Growth and Environmental Protection

The Government’s ambitious housing reforms present a pivotal opportunity to address both the housing crisis and the urgent need to preserve our environment. Embedding circular economy principles and approaches into the new housebuilding programme – such as refurbishing existing buildings, using MMC, and prioritising resource reuse – can significantly reduce waste and pollution while protecting the UK’s rich natural landscape.

It’s time to stop thinking of housing development as a choice between growth and sustainability. We can – and must – do both. By moving beyond traditional supply-centric solutions, we can instead deliver sustainable, long-lasting homes that will serve future generations while protecting our environment.

Interested in learning more? Dive deeper into how the future of construction can be transformed by reading our latest policy briefs on circular economy solutions for the construction sector – with a special focus on Biodiversity Net Gain, Strategic Supply  and Soil.

References

• [1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits#:~:text=The%20circular%20economy%20is%20a,products%20as%20long%20as%20possible
• [2] https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview
• [3] https://www.eib.org/en/stories/linear-economy-recycling#:~:text=Linear%20economy%20is%20a%20system,line%20regarding%20recycling%20or%20reuse.
• [4] https://www.sweco.co.uk/services/water-energy-industry/environmental-consultancy/pre-demolition-audits/#:~:text=Pre%2Ddemolition%2Fredevelopment%20audits%20and,or%20redevelopment%20of%20the%20site.
• [5] https://circular-cities-and-regions.ec.europa.eu/support-materials/papers-and-reports/investigating-europes-secondary-raw-material-markets
• [6] https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn00934/
• [7] https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/why-soil-matters/#:~:text=Soil%20provides%20a%20host%20of,food%20security%20without%20healthy%20soils.

Author’s note

Written by Aleyna Prokudina, Policy Advisor at the Policy Impact Unit. With thanks to Jen Reed, Head of Policy Impact Unit, for her valuable contributions.

 

As the new Government comes into power, the UK’s ambition to position itself as a global clean Energy Superpower has been renewed. Government has expressed the need to invest in a new industrial strategy where sustainability goals are critical to deliver economic growth and achieve clean energy by 2030. This includes investing in new jobs and technologies and exploring responsible ways to utilise the UK’s naturally available bioresources.

Seaweed (macroalgae) has a pivotal role to play in delivering ambitions on clean energy, and incubation and support for this emerging industry must feature in the future industrial strategy to unlock the transformative potential it can offer. Seaweed-derived bioproducts can be used to displace fossil fuel-derived compounds across multiple sectors, including plastics, fabrics, fuels, pharmaceuticals, and the nutraceuticals industries. Furthermore, seaweed can capture more carbon than it releases to the atmosphere (carbon sink), contributing as a natural tool to tackle climate change.

To unlock these benefits, we must scale up seaweed biorefineries in the UK, but there are several engineering, bioscience and societal challenges currently holding this back. Tackling these challenges and demonstrating the feasibility and potential of scaled-up seaweed biorefineries in the UK, is the focus of important research currently being conducted by Dr Emily Kostas at the new Manufacturing Futures Lab at UCL East. It is envisioned that this research will encourage Government to support UK seaweed aquaculture and increase the availability of this versatile and sustainable feedstock.

Despite important efforts to map and characterize opportunities for seaweed farming across the UK [1]^,[2], there has been no strong policies and support at the necessary scale to realize the ambitions set above. Numerous UK companies are, in fact, currently importing seaweed from abroad (Norway and the Faroe Islands) due to the lack of a constant supply and adequate amount of seaweed biomass that is currently available here in the UK, which clearly demonstrates that there is demand and that the market is ready for this transition.

We believe there is an opportunity to sink carbon and support green energy domestically by promoting the scale-up of seaweed-derived bioproducts, biofuels, biochemicals and biomaterials that have been manufactured from UK farmed seaweed.

Therefore, we have identified three key recommendations for policy action going forward:

• Build on existing evidence base of suitable areas for sustainable aquaculture[3] and monitor the regional landscape availability and production of native seaweed feedstocks; this would ensure a constant supply and will meet the demand for a future UK bioeconomy.
• Design and deliver a new regulatory and policy framework that promotes sustainable seaweed farming and cultivation in the UK, based on solid, sustainable and responsible planning on how to best manage marine environments[4]^,[5].
• Work with coastal communities and stakeholders to explore how to meaningfully develop a plan to create job security whilst protecting natural resources and landscape.

Seaweed can provide a fresh start to ignite a new UK industrial strategy and contribute to achieving the ambitious goals of delivering clean energy by 2030 and production of alternative and sustainable products. The ability to do so rests on how effectively we can bolster the UK’s aquaculture in the years ahead.

References

[1] https://thefishsite.com/articles/initiative-aims-to-take-uk-seaweed-sector-to-the-next-level

[2]  https://www.carymor.wales/seaweed/seaweed-farming-in-the-uk

[3] Identification of strategic areas of sustainable aquaculture production in English waters: Final Report

[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/marine-planning-in-england

[5] https://www.gov.scot/policies/marine-planning/