UKGBC launches materials passports guides to drive circular construction

Understanding materials passports

Materials passports provide transparency by capturing key attributes of materials in buildings — including embodied carbon, sourcing, health impacts, and end-of-life pathways. This traceability ensures materials can be reused rather than discarded, accelerating circularity in construction.

“In the UK there is a growing appetite for reused materials to help lower embodied carbon through design decisions, meaning the value of materials after their typical end-of-life at strip out or demolition is becoming more important. Material passports can store this information as well as data for warranty and insurance which can be used to sell the material in the future.” Clare Wilde from UKGBC notes.

Currently construction, demolition, and excavation account for 60% of material use and waste generation. This presents a great potential for the manufacturing and AEC/O industry.

The UKGBC’s Circular Economy Programme, the EU Level(s) framework, and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) drive the need for broader industry adoption, with ESPR requiring UK manufacturers trading in the European Union to comply.

The benefits of implementing materials passports

1. Reducing embodied carbon

By tracking a product’s full life-cycle impacts, materials passports empower decision-makers to cut embodied emissions, supporting net-zero strategies and circular construction principles.

2. Enhancing material reuse and circularity

Structured data enables material extraction, repurposing, and resale — encouraging deconstruction over demolition and ensuring valuable materials remain in use.

3. Meeting regulatory and client requirements

With tightening carbon reporting mandates, materials passports provide a framework for compliance with UK net-zero policies, PAS 2080, and EU Taxonomy standards. The UKGBC’s guidance supports adoption, giving professionals clear direction in meeting sustainability and ESG targets.

The role of manufacturers in enabling materials passports

For materials passports to be valid, manufacturers must provide environmental information as covered in EN-compliant EPDs, which supply the verified environmental data necessary for assessment, compliance, and reuse potential. Without an EPD, a material cannot be included in a materials passport, limiting its viability in circular economy initiatives and regulatory compliance. Efficient EPD generation and publishing give manufacturers a competitive edge, by making their environmental carbon data public they ensure their products are market-ready and aligned with evolving sustainability requirements. 

Empowering circular construction with One Click LCA

One Click LCA simplifies the EPD process, making it straightforward and accessible for manufacturers. Its comprehensive suite of tools — including EPD generation, Materials Compass, and Manufacturers Pages —  enables sustainable material selection and compliance with evolving regulations. 

Beyond EPDs, One Click LCA supports the promotion and selection of low carbon materials through  Materials Compass and Manufacturer Pages. The Materials Compass, is a global material database that  allows AEC professionals to compare materials based on environmental performance while offering manufacturers a platform to showcase their lower-carbon emissions products and appeal to carbon-conscious specifiers. By integrating these tools, One Click LCA provides a streamlined pathway from EPD creation to materials passport adoption. 

How One Click LCA supports materials passport adoption

One Click LCA’s tools remove complexity from environmental product declarations (EPD) generation and sustainable material selection, helping construction professionals integrate materials passports into their projects.

With One Click LCA, UK manufacturers can:

• Generate verified EPDs efficiently to ensure materials meet passport requirements and regulatory compliance.
• Compare and evaluate materials instantly based on embodied carbon, circular economy potential, and regulatory standards.
• Optimise material selection with Materials Compass, a database of over 250,000 construction materials — including verified EPDs and life-cycle impact data.
• Generate structured material data to create materials passports that integrate with BIM workflows, procurement, and compliance reporting.

As the shift toward circular construction gains momentum, materials passports are becoming essential for improving resource efficiency and reducing embodied carbon. To make the most of the opportunity they present, having the right tools in place is key — tools that simplify EPD generation, ensure material traceability, and fit into existing workflows. With the right approach, manufacturers, architects and engineers can stay ahead of regulations, make smarter material choices, and contribute to a truly sustainable built environment.