AUT North Campus & product stewardship with GreenStuf^®

The A1 building at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) North Campus is the spearhead of AUT’s ambition to become the most energy-efficient university in New Zealand. Designed by Jasmax, A1 will be AUT’s lowest carbon and most energy efficient structure, building on a legacy of highly sustainable development for this ‘University of a Changing World’. 

That commitment to sustainability and waste reduction is carried through all aspects of the project, including the construction process. 

‘I think it is widely understood that construction and demolition make up around 50 per cent of what goes into our landfills,’ says Annie Day, Group Environmental Manager at Naylor Love. ‘Our ambition with the AUT North Campus project was to have a zero-waste worksite, and obviously recycling plays a huge part in that.’  

Scaling up the programme  

’Both AUT and Naylor Love were looking to lead the way in keeping waste out of landfill, and Auckland Council came in with funding for the project,’ says Aidan Hill, GreenStuf’s Technical and Sustainability Manager. ‘With GreenStuf going into all the external walls, incorporating the Takeback programme ensured product stewardship for all the insulation.’  

After its initial trial at Manurewa High School’s new Business Hub in 2020 proved a success, the GreenStuf Takeback scheme was implemented on a much greater scale at the A1 project, an entire new build using sustainable engineered timber, along with the full refurbishment of an existing four-level building. 

‘One of the main things we learned on the pilot programme was that the subcontractors have to be on board,’ says Annie. ‘It’s a new world for everybody, and the Takeback programme is ground-breaking in showing how effective recycling can be for the construction industry. It just needs the right kind of training for the teams on site.’

High-performance GreenStuf thermal and acoustic insulation, made with a minimum of 50 per cent recycled content and manufactured on a zero-waste production line, was an ideal choice for a project based around energy efficiency and environmentally sustainable practices and circularity. 

‘Annie and Naylor Love got right behind it,’ agrees Aidan. ‘They sectioned off a portion of the site and dedicated that to waste material separation. GreenStuf was just one element of it. It's a completely different way of approaching how we work, and success is based on changing past habits, with every contractor’s understanding and buy-in.’ 

Dedicated bins are placed on site, and contractors are encouraged to place all the GreenStuf packaging, waste and offcuts into the bins. ‘We learned from the pilot project that it’s essential installers understand the products have to be separated properly and not contaminated with other material,’ says Aidan. 

Both the GreenStuf product and packaging are 100 per cent recyclable. Packaging is taken to a local plastics recycler. Greenstuf offcuts are put back into the production line to create more Greenstuf, effectively closing the recycling loop. 

Substantial saving on landfill costs  

For Naylor Love, the Takeback programme was part of a larger trial, at the end of which 90 per cent of their construction waste had been diverted away from landfill. This new approach allowed the company to make a saving of 40 per cent on their usual landfill costs.  

‘Our biggest challenge was changing people's mindsets, and we had a great opportunity to get our team on board at AUT,’ says Annie. ‘I think as a sector we really do need to clean up our waste. We need to do this together, and we need to do it in partnerships. These collaborations with GreenStuf have been awesome, and we have to give them full credit for instigating the first pilots.’