Laing O'Rourke hosts MECLA Challenge

Earlier this year, Laing O’Rourke hosted the Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance’s (MECLA) Innovative Building Materials Challenge in Sydney, Australia. 

MECLA members come from across the construction industry, from government and private clients to construction companies, designers, suppliers and innovative start-ups, with the aim of working together to create momentum and opportunity in the value chain and reduce harmful carbon emissions. 

Seven companies were pre-selected by MECLA and invited to pitch to a panel of judges, including Laing O’Rourke’s Australian Head of Technology and Innovation, Georgina North. The session aimed to raise the profile of what innovative construction materials are now available for use in construction.

Monica Hanus-Smith, Low Carbon Materials Lead, said, “We are working hard to increase industry awareness and understanding of emerging carbon solutions. Recognising innovation in this space is of the utmost importance to achieve our shared sustainability goals.”

“We believe that increasing familiarity with the available alternatives can contribute to solving other challenges for product take-up, such as the existing institutional barriers and the much-needed updates to standards and specifications.” 

House of Bamboo and the Australian Hemp Masonry Company were named as the joint winners of the competition. Other companies that pitched innovative materials included Reynard Wood, MCi Carbon, XLAM, MST Bar and Brickworks.

Click here to watch the video to hear what our guests had to say.