ROMULUS Initiative

In support of its strategy to play an active part in construction’s transition to a circular economy, Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland are announcing its participation in the ROMULUS Initiative. ROMULUS is-a circular economy initiative that aims to reduce the environmental impact of construction through collaboration across the construction supply chain and developing an accessible mine of resources to stimulate re-use and recycling. 

In 2020, construction, demolition, and excavation generated 61% of the UK’s total waste according to the UK Government.[i]

The ROMULUS Initiative will see participating organisations involved in the project, including Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland, work together to help increase the amount of materials and waste that are used to their maximum lifespan. This will be done in three key ways:

• Providing access to digital product passports – including a detailed product library of 1,000’s of circular, low carbon or healthy products, Saint-Gobain UK&I will contribute its relevant products to this library
• The expansion of the ROMULUS urban mine. A resource mine of 1,000’s of deposits or up-cyclable resources  from the construction industry including from Construction & Demolition projects in the UK & Ireland. 
• Support the development of a range of useful information and guides on how the industry can industrialise adoption of circular economies in the construction industry.

Saint-Gobain is committed to NetZero carbon emissions by 2050 and to adopting circular economy principles across its operations. This approach includes evolving its products and solutions to reduce the intensity in virgin raw materials and to promote increased integration of recycled or renewable materials, extend their lifespan and facilitate their recycling or reuse in order to reduce the resource intensity of the solutions. For many years Saint-Gobain has provided solutions and services to recover waste materials for reprocessing. It’s Glass Forever programme has been actively diverting waste glass from landfill and remanufacturing it into new, recycled glass, known as cullet, at our specialised facility in Eggborough. Recently, in January 2025, Saint-Gobain UK brand, British Gypsum, launched Gyproc SoundBloc Infinaé 100, the UK’s first plasterboard made with 100% recycled gypsum.

Participating in ROMULUS, alongside other committed construction companies, will help further accelerate the UK construction industry’s approach to the circular economy helping to industrialise the circular economy in construction and establish a viable and vibrant market that can be expanded.

Mike Chaldecott, CEO of Saint-Gobain in the UK & Ireland commented:

“We’re delighted to be collaborating with other stakeholders in the construction industry to support Project ROMULUS and the further development of the Circular Economy. We have been proud of the work we have done over the last five years to increase the recycled content in our insulation, glass and plasterboard products thereby reducing the amount of virgin raw materials we use in their manufacture. Our GlassForever scheme is actively supporting customers to renovate buildings to higher performance standards by recovering old glazing and using this as a resource to manufacture new glazing for buildings. Participating in the Project Romulus is an important step in continuing to play our part in construction’s transformation and our teams are looking forward to making a significant contribution and learning how we can go faster and further to support circular practices.  

As one of the first UK construction manufacturers to be involved in ROMULUS, we look forward to working closely with other partners including Maconda Solutions, Nuveen Real Estate, Landsec, Clarion, Multiplex, Upcyclea, and the City of London Corporation to help make the project a success and help transform the construction industry into a more sustainable one.

For more information on the ROMULUS Initiative, click here.

For more information on Sustainability at Saint-Gobain, click here.