C&D World session preview: The future of C&D recycling

Sustainability has become a growing focus of the construction and demolition (C&D) sectors and, as a result, the C&D recycling industry, shaping business practices, legislation and regulations and industry goals.

During the opening keynote at C&D World 2025 (March 11-14, Dallas), March 12 from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. CT, Susan Robinson, owner of Susan K. Robinson Consulting and a seasoned expert in sustainability and waste management, will share how external pressures like community expectations, shifting regulations and evolving materials are creating opportunities and presenting challenges for recyclers of mixed C&D materials and demolition debris.

Construction & Demolition Recycling spoke with Robinson about the opening keynote and what C&D World 2025 attendees can learn from this fireside chat with Terri Ward, executive director and CEO of the Construction & Demolition Recycling Association.

Construction & Demolition Recycling (C&DR): How do you define sustainability?

Susan Robinson (SR): Sustainability is quite simply good business. It’s about companies being good stewards of the environment and developing good business practices to create a stronger business.

To do this, companies need to look beyond the four walls of their company and instead look at the entire value chain—where their materials are going, how their materials are being handled, what vendors and suppliers they are using, what communities they are operating in and so on. They also need to think about good governance, policies and reporting as these can make a company stronger and more resilient.

C&DR: What role do external pressures and market realities play in setting and meeting sustainability goals?

SR: As I look back on the last 40 years, this is not a new subject; the role of external pressures has played an outsized role in establishing goals for decades. For example, state and local government goals were often set by politicians with numbers ending in zero or five. In other words, they were created without a lot of data or science.

Over the years, we have watched the dates for those goals come and go, with few being achieved. These lofty goals were considered necessary to move the needle toward making an impact, whether it be net-zero carbon emissions, zero waste by 2020, 100 percent renewable energy and the like.

Fast forward to 2025, I think there is a realization that it doesn’t look good to set a goal and not achieve it. So, there has been a shift toward using a process to create more realistic goals and plans for how to achieve those goals, which is well overdue. This shift can set the stage for success and benefit everyone.

RELATED: C&D World session preview: A 360-degree view of concrete recycling

C&DR: As with any new administration, there will be changes that could impact the C&D recycling industry. What should our industry be keeping an eye on regarding changing legislation and regulations?

SR: When we think about legislation, it’s important to remember most legislation happens at the state and local levels and can help drive change. For example, extended producer responsibility (EPR) for electronics and hard-to-handle materials has been around for years and given us structure to develop EPR for other types of materials. So, there’s no reason to think EPR wouldn’t be considered for construction materials—such as gypsum.

When EPR legislation in the U.S. has been drafted, it often includes multiple requirements that would be challenging to legislate separately in individual bills. One example that I think could be a game changer as a result of EPR legislation is the requirement for recyclable materials to go to responsible end markets (REMs). REM requirements include end market compliance to specified labor and environmental practices. They also require that a minimum of 60-65 percent of the recyclable materials is recycled into new products. No matter where the end market is, the EPR legislation requires material from that state to meet their REM requirements. This language is being built into U.S. EPR laws and could be transformative for our industry.

C&DR: How can the C&D industry better adapt to economic cycles?

SR: There has always been, and always will be, ups and downs in the economy, and the political winds are going to shift every four or eight years. It’s a very noisy world, and this is where the strength of strong governance comes in.

Incorporating sustainability planning into business practices can create stability, strength and support for a company through economic shifts. For example, taking care of your employees, customers and communities will help keep you resilient when things get tough.

C&DR: What steps can companies take to improve reporting and provide more transparency and accountability in recycling rates?

SR: It’s important to remember there’s very little required regulatory reporting in the U.S., especially in the C&D recycling industry. A lot of the reporting, especially sustainability reporting, is driven by customers and vendors because they may have reporting requirements. This means that even when it’s not required by law, reporting may be the price of doing business with some customers.

That being said, the first step to improving reporting and providing more transparency is to ensure your senior leadership team is supportive because reporting can be uncomfortable. Often, people want information and companies don’t want to give it, but if you have a good story, good data and good information, you shouldn’t be afraid of sharing it.

The second step is to gather the data. This can be complex and time-consuming but using sustainability frameworks like the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) or Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a great place to start as you can see what topics are covered in reporting and relevant to your business.

The last step is to produce your report and continue reporting annually to drive improvement. There’s something to be said about getting into the habit of reporting annually—it motivates you to do better.

C&DR: What do you think is the next best use for recycled C&D material?

SR: It depends on everything from the material to the processing system to the end market. We tend to focus on circularity, and we don’t always look at the science and data of what makes sense for different materials. If you do a lifecycle assessment for concrete and wood, for example, you’re going to come up with different answers. So, until we dig into the environmental impact across the entire value chain, we can’t really make broad judgements; we need to use the intelligence we’ve gained over the years to make good decisions on each material.

C&DR: What can attendees expect to learn from this session?

SR: I hope they learn to think in the long term instead of just thinking in the short term, and to use data and science to make good business decisions. Sustainability is good business, and you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck by being intentional with your decisions.