A pre-demolition audit is a survey of a building carried out before it is demolished, to catalogue its materials and identify what can be reused, reclaimed or recycled rather than sent to landfill. It produces an inventory of quantities, conditions and recommended routes, and is used to support planning and BREEAM requirements.

A pre-demolition audit covers a building being fully or largely demolished, while a pre-refurbishment audit covers refurbishment, strip out or partial works where much of the building stays. If you are not sure which your project needs, tell us the scope and we will advise.

A Circular Economy Statement is a planning document showing how a development reduces waste and keeps materials in use across its lifecycle. Some local authorities now require one for larger schemes, and it is usually built on the data from a pre-demolition or pre-refurbishment audit

It is a focused survey of the specific materials, fixtures and components in a building that are worth reclaiming, reselling or donating, along with their condition, quantities and possible routes to reuse. It is for clients who want to capture value from what is removed, not just meet a compliance requirement.

Embodied carbon is the carbon emitted in producing, transporting and installing building materials, separate from the energy a building uses once occupied. Reusing existing materials avoids the embodied carbon of new ones, which is why audits increasingly report it and why planners and BREEAM assessors care about it.