Celebrating IWD2026 with Lauren McCarthy
16 Mar 2026Lauren McCarthy, Sustainability Manager on the Therme project, details her path into the industry, and the importance of sustainability in construction
We are proud to be a funding signatory of this nationwide initiative inspired by His Majesty King Charles III
The initiative aims to move designing out waste, reuse, high-quality recycling, and remanufacturing from aspiration to action.
Sir Robert McAlpine is amongst the small group of leading organisations initially anchoring the Circularity in Practice Taskforce, demonstrating practical adoption and playing an educational role to accelerate adoption in the UK of proven circular solutions across the places where we live and work.
Circularity in Practice, which was officially launched on Monday 16th March 2026 at The Renew Hub in Manchester, is a nationwide, voluntary initiative that brings together businesses across sectors, recognising that creating a truly circular way of managing the environments in which we live and work requires a collaborative approach across the entire value chain
The initiative leads a practical approach, shining a light on what already works well, and showcasing proven best practice, rather than developing new policy or fostering early-stage innovation. It includes straightforward approaches such as reclaiming, refurbishing, reusing, and upcycling materials.
While there is no shortage of ideas, innovation, or policy on circularity, the challenge is turning these into action at scale, particularly where the commercial case can at times be less clear. Circularity in Practice will work to ensure the priority now is making waste elimination, reuse, high-quality recycling, and remanufacturing part of everyday decision-making, so it becomes a reflex, not an afterthought.

With an extensive track record of sustainable engineering excellence, and principles of circularity widely utilised on recent projects including Three Chamberlain Square for the Paradise Development in Birmingham, 2 Finsbury Avenue, 1 Broadgate and 100 Liverpool Street, as part of the Broadgate Framework, and recently at London Museum with concrete innovation, Sir Robert McAlpine will be committing to the initiative’s objectives now and in the future.
Simon Richards, Sustainability Director at Sir Robert McAlpine, said: “We are proud to be a founding signatory of the Circularity in Practice Taskforce. Across the UK, businesses are increasingly committed to doing the right thing for a more sustainable future, and circularity is central to that ambition. We look forward to applying the lessons learned from delivering circular approaches on major projects to help shape best practice and accelerate proven solutions in the places where we live and work.”
Lauren McCarthy, Sustainability Manager on the Therme project, details her path into the industry, and the importance of sustainability in construction
Anjana Raj, Company Social Value Manager, details the benefit of social value to the industry, and how she’s leading the charge to bring about the next generation of construction professionals
We celebrate the role women continue to play in shaping the future of the industry on the occasion of International Women's Day.