Approach to Sustainable Building Re-use

Sustainable building reuse is at the forefront of what we do. Our team has specialized in the acquisition, relocation, and upcycling of pre-used buildings, building components, and accessories, as well as plant and machinery.

Balancing Profits and Sustainability

Broadly, when it comes to decommissioning a steel frame building and its components or accessories, considering saving these for future reuse is challenging and, by default, more demanding and often not profitable. The cost of dismantling, handling, and marketing a used building or component involves higher default costs than the standard recycling approach undertaken by most demolition projects. Simply put, the workmanship involved for a team to dismantle a building component by component, compared to a 360 with shears, is sometimes astronomical.

We believe in a circular economy where valuable assets are saved from being scrapped, thereby reducing environmental impact and eliminating the carbon emissions associated with raw material extraction. There are plenty of studies that show that re-use and upcycling is the correct approach for environmental sustainability.

Strategic Approach to Re-use

We have made it our mission to pioneer strategies that enable the profit balance to be tilted further towards re-use. Over the years, we have trained ourselves, our partners, and our customers to optimize the industry in this aspect. Our business model is designed to make re-using buildings and building components as economical as possible. Here are key points of our strategy:

• Demand-Side Early Matching: We maintain an active waiting list of customers with specific size requirements. This allows us to match potential buyers at an early stage and actively search for and reserve the desired buildings, saving them from disposal.
• Early Market Engagement: Buildings are matched to our waiting list and advertised as soon as they are identified—often while still in use or in the planning phase—to secure a buyer before dismantling begins. Early engagement improves the re-use rate and the overall number of buildings we manage to save.
• Direct “Off-Site” Relocation: By securing new owners early, we prioritize dismantling resources for buildings with guaranteed new homes. This allows for direct transport from the donor site to the recipient, eliminating costs of storage, double-handling, and unnecessary transport.
• Selective Acquisition: We evaluate structures against broad and efficient admissible criteria to ensure the steel frame and envelope are promoted for sustainable building re-use.

Expertise and Technical Capability

We offer a comprehensive “turnkey” solution that spans the entire lifecycle of a relocated building.

• Specialist Dismantling: We have extensive experience in the systematic deconstruction of complete units, from the steel structure and cladding to doors, cranes, and racking.
• Relocation and Refurbishment: Our services include the ability to relocate, refurbish, and customize buildings.
• Full Installation Services: Beyond salvage, we provide groundworks, steel erecting and cladding.
• Upcycled Building Components: We extend the salvage approach by keeping re-usable steelwork parts and components surplus to previous projects, actively repurposing them for new smaller projects or customization.
• Proven Track Record: Our portfolio includes over 100 re-used buildings, including pioneering projects like the relocation of major warehouse structures from the former site of the London Olympic Park.

Environmental Impact

By choosing to relocate an existing structure rather than commissioning a new build, our clients achieve significant cost savings and a reduced carbon footprint. We view every building as a collection of valuable assets; our primary goal is to save these structures from being “chopped-up” and scrapped, this is sustainable building re-use

Educating and Spreading Awareness

We actively participate in studies, seminars, and networking to promote the re-use movement. We collaborate with The Carbon Trust, BioRegional, Circular Steel, and The Engineers Reuse Collective to sustain this trend.

Proactive Partnerships: A Call to Action

We believe that systemic change requires a mutually beneficial partnership between estate owners, main contractors, and demolition companies. To move the needle on global sustainability, we must move beyond the “demolish and dispose” mindset and embrace “deconstruct and deliver.”

Engage With Our Cause: Don’t let valuable structural assets go to waste. We invite developers and demolition contractors to engage with us at the earliest possible stage of project planning. By partnering with Portal Power, you can unlock new revenue streams for your business while significantly contributing to a circular economy and reducing your environmental impact.

Would you like to join our network? Contact us today to discuss how we can help you turn potential waste into profit and promote a greener construction industry.