A noteworthy milestone in an ambitious circular construction initiative has been achieved through the combined efforts of Priority One, Tauranga City Council, and Mutu.

Priority One’s Sustainability Lead Marissa Nikora, has led the development of the circular construction project where several significant waste diversion initiatives are being explored and implemented across the region in collaboration with local construction businesses. The recently established circular construction project seeks to activate circular solutions addressing sustainable development, waste management and environmental challenges by maximising resources, generating additional value and reducing waste to a minimum.

One of the first initiatives within this project is the Tauranga Mutu pilot programme, funded by Tauranga City Council and supported by Mutu and Priority One.

Mutu is a New Zealand SaaS subscription product that helps organisations reduce their environmental footprint by providing an opportunity to share and redirect surplus resources by diverting unnecessary waste from landfill.

Ben Redwood, CEO, and founder of Mutu explains, “Construction related activities account for 50% of all rubbish sent to landfill in Aotearoa.  Our mission at Mutu is to decarbonise the construction sector and we firmly believe that by using tools like Mutu construction companies can not only save the planet but also save money while doing it!”

With over 25 customers across Aotearoa, Mutu has already enabled civil and construction companies to repurpose and redirect more than 220 tonnes of surplus materials back into other projects. Saving their customers more than $285k in procurement costs and $68k in disposal costs, while diverting more than 31 tonnes of CO2 waste emissions from landfill.

“The Mutu team is ecstatic to now partner with Tauranga City Council and Priority One to tackle this problem head on across the Bay of Plenty. Using the Mutu tool, construction companies across the region can use their phones to quickly direct surplus materials on site to other projects or to charitable organisations. This saves on procurement costs and keeps waste out of landfill.” Says Redwood.

Eight local businesses have been selected for the pilot project thanks to Mutu and Tauranga City Council: Marra Construction, Letts Construction, Higgins, Flowerday Homes, CBC Construction, Matco Contractors, Brunel Construction and Gartshore. Bradley Debnam and the team at Marra Construction are excited to have been selected as part of the pilot.

“We are always looking at new ways and initiatives to ensure we operate in the most sustainable way possible. We want to have the lowest impact possible on the environment. We are excited to be trialling Mutu, to help reuse excess materials in-house with the aim of diverting these products from entering our landfills.” Says Debnam.

All companies selected for the pilot will use the Mutu platform to add and share surplus materials, find, and claim available materials, receive real time data on procurement costs saved, and weight CO2 redirected from landfill.

Priority One is committed to creating a more resilient and sustainable future through the supporting efforts in waste diversion and exploring circular initiatives like Mutu, that place a higher value on the environment, reusing and redirecting resources, and reducing carbon emissions and waste in the region.

If you’re interested in learning more about circular economy initiatives and how your business can get involved, please connect with our Sustainability Lead, Marissa Nikora, at marissa@priorityone.co.nz