Consultancy and construction company Mace has appointed Jessica Lovell as its first low carbon structural engineer to head up the organisation’s client carbon reduction target
Jessica Lovell joins Mace from Robert Bird Group, where she set up the company’s sustainability steering group and was instrumental in developing their net zero carbon agenda.
Mace has pledged to reduce client carbon emissions by 1 million tonnes as part of its 2026 business strategy and aims to eliminate the use of diesel on all its sites by 2026.
At Mace, Lovell will lead clients’ embodied carbon reduction strategies, completely transforming the carbon footprint of the projects they deliver.
Mace has achieved net zero carbon as a business at the end of 2020 and achieved a 50% carbon reduction and a 50% carbon offset.
In 2021, it has moved towards a further 10% carbon reduction target year-on-year to 2026.
Mace’s carbon reduction strategies
In order to help clients reduce carbon emissions, Mace has spearheaded the use of low carbon concrete cassettes as a construction methodology.
In partnership with Cemfree, DB Group and Innovate UK funding, Mace will reduce the embodied carbon of concrete by as much as 75%.
Using a construction to production approach, Mace has designed and tested the first prototype cassettes at Mace’s offsite factory in Brandon.
The new project has also reduced the amount of carbon in the steel used in a floorplate, helping to generate improvements in the overall embodied carbon efficiency of a project, whilst maintaining the same structural properties.
The cement free cassettes will be used on some of Mace’s largest construction sites helping clients revolutionise the way they reduce the embodied carbon of their projects.
Engaging with clients to deliver meaningful carbon reduction results
Jessica Lovell, low carbon structural engineer at Mace commented: “In modern buildings, a large portion of carbon sits within the structure.
“If we want to drive meaningful change, it’s crucial that we engage not only our clients and their design teams but also our supply chain partners early on. Significant carbon improvements can be made by asking the big questions early on.
“Depending on the project you could achieve up to a quarter of carbon savings. The majority of our clients already have a net zero strategy in place, and with our continued commitment to reducing the carbon in their assets, we are turning actions into tangible results.’’
‘Jessica’s expertise will transform the way we approach embodied carbon reduction strategies’
Andrew Jackson, COO for construction at Mace also stated: “Jessica’s expertise will transform the way we approach embodied carbon reduction strategies on client projects. We set ourselves ambitious targets for 2026 and we have already been making significant progress towards our goals.
“I look forward to Jessica taking our clients a step further in their net zero carbon journeys.”
