A winner of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Dragons’ Den style competition has been revealed.
The competition sponsored by the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) encouraged young professionals in the industry to accelerate the sector’s drive to net zero.
Winner Peter Morgan of the Manufacturing Technology Centre pitched the idea of an online and physical presence for surplus and left-over building materials for the DIYer to utilise for a small charge. The panel agreed this could be set up with minimal delay and trialled regionally.
Peter will now receive support from a CLC member to develop and implement his proposal into the sector, a cash-prize of £1,000, and a 12-month mentoring arrangement with a CLC business leader.
The panel, chaired by Andrew Griffith MP, the UK’s Net Zero business champion and consisting of Andy Mitchell, co-chair of the CLC, John Newcomb, chief executive officer of the BMF, Chris Goodier of Loughborough University, and Adam Cane of ACO Water Management, met last month in the Construct Zero Den to interview the four finalists.
Commenting on his success, Peter said: “As a keen DIYer, I’m often looking for way to source surplus materials to reduce waste and project costs. Whilst working with the Construction Innovation Hub, I felt there was an opportunity to do this at scale if we work together across the industry. I’m really excited to be able to work with the CLC to make the idea a reality as a result of this Dragon’s Den competition.”
John Newcomb added: “In the battle against climate change, the best solutions are also the easiest to implement. Peter presented a simple yet creative solution to reduce a significant amount of waste in the supply chain, and I am delighted that this will now be shared with the wider industry.”
Andrew Griffith concluded: “It is heartening to see young people in construction helping the UK reach its net zero target with their practical ideas. Peter’s idea would help reduce approximately 60 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste a year.”
