2014 Ocean Exchange Registrant

1. THE EMERGENT PROCESS
Creates Building Material Re-Use Culture:
Holistic, Economic, and Scalable

2. According to the US EPA, 19 million tons of residential and 65 million
tons of nonresidential demolition materials are generated in a year
in America. Meanwhile, the Housing and Urban Development
Department (HUD) estimates that over 230,000 public housing units
are already scheduled for demolition. These numbers show that a
holistic strategy for productively reclaiming unwanted building stock
is critically needed.
THE EMERGENT PROCESS

3. Formed in 2009, Emergent Structures is driven by a vision to
create a global building material re-use culture. Through 5
years of innovative strategic collaboration across all sectors,
this organization has created a comprehensive strategy that
can transform the steady flow of construction and demolition
(C+D) waste in every city into a source of local wealth,
economic mobility, and ecological health. The major catalyst to
kick start this process was to show economic value in re-use
versus demolition. The major challenge was to develop a
process that was holistic, economically feasible, and scalable
to any city, large or small. projects.

4. Emergent has a proven 3-Tier model of stakeholder
engagement, developed through a rigorous, 5-year pilot project
in Savannah, Georgia, this process can be used by
municipalities and developers around the world, and Emergent
has the knowledge and the tools to provide top-level consulting
strategies to these institutions. One of the major strengths of
Emergent’s process is the flexibility of scale in which it can be
applied. The opportunity for a la carte choices, in which
municipalities, communities and developers can pick from a
selection of C+D material harvest strategies, allows for various
levels of ambition, and negates the intimidating ‘all or nothing’
scenario.

5. To learn more about this and other innovative solutions
Go to OceanExchange(dot)Org
Other outcomes from this process include the creation of small
business opportunities for local craftsmen, carpenters, and
furniture makers, as well as at-risk youth apprenticeship
programs and other green job development
Emergent Structures is Transforming the Public’s Perception of Waste