We are thrilled to welcome Tom Crosthwaite as Partner Manager at Madaster UK. With over 14 years of experience in property, technology, and sustainability, Tom brings a wealth of knowledge to his role. As an industry leader in transforming property transactions and integrating technology into compliance solutions, he is ready to take on the challenge of driving circularity within the built environment at Madaster UK.

We asked Tom a few questions to introduce him to our network.

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself. What personal experiences have influenced your long-term career in sustainability in both the built and natural environments?

I’ve always been driven by passion and enthusiasm, both in my personal and professional life, and if I find a topic fascinating, I’m hooked!

From a young age, I’ve had a deep connection with nature, and this is possibly my first understanding about the need for sustainability. My early obsession with animals sparked an awareness of the importance of protecting both the natural world and the ecosystems that support them. Witnessing the challenges these creatures face in their shrinking habitats has always stayed with me.

I’ve also been fortunate to visit awe-inspiring places, from dense forests to stunning architectural marvels, which have only deepened my appreciation for the built and natural environments. These experiences gave me insight into the delicate balance between development and conservation.

The main thing fuelling my desire to make a lasting impact is my son. He’s now 16 months old, and from the moment he was born, all I could think about was what the world would be like in 50 or 60 years when I’m no longer around. The truth is, it scared me! Instead of burying my head in the sand about issues, I decided it was time to take the plunge and find a company that is challenging and dramatically improving the built environment with a sustainable and circular solution. My hope is that he will get to see many awe-inspiring places full of biodiversity and not be stuck dealing with a world overused and underappreciated by previous generations.

Q: What inspired your shift from traditional real estate to a focus on sustainability and circularity?

The shift came in two ways. The first thing I’ve already mentioned is my desire to change what the future looks like for my son. 

The second comes from knowing that the built environment is one of the biggest contributors to waste and carbon emissions. For me, it made sense for me to learn more about the challenge from people in the know, so I started reaching out and having many conversations with fascinating people who have dedicated their careers to creating a sustainable real estate sector. People more knowledgeable than me—and my Sustainable Real Estate course via the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership—helped me to understand that so many building materials and their carbon footprints need circularity to create meaningful, lasting change.

Q: How does Madaster help developers and asset owners reduce costs while meeting sustainability goals?

I’ve always been a firm believer that technology, when used correctly, adds such incredible value. The data it can gather creates clarity to guide decision-making.

For me, Madaster’s material passports enable this transparency, as when you know the value of materials in your buildings, where they came from, and how they can detach, you can plan for future reuse. Knowing the value of your materials, their reusability, and how material passports can help with ESG reporting and risk mitigation, it becomes obvious that there are multiple different cost and sustainability benefits.

What I really like about Madaster’s approach is that its material passports are changing the way people think about buildings, which become materials banks on the platform. The only way to create real change is by getting everyone working together and thinking differently about the way we’ve been building for the past 100 years. Madaster’s real value is that it encourages people to think about circularity and what can happen next for a building’s materials instead of letting them end up in landfills.

Q: What excites you most about the future of the built environment?

What excites me most is the innovation coming out of the built environment. Sustainability has been around for years; however, only a few real innovators have been pushing this agenda. Nowadays, every company has a plan to reach net zero; almost all commercial tenants are demanding more sustainable buildings. So, everyone is under pressure to change.

What I’ve noticed is that this has mainly manifested as tech and smart building design to help with the operational carbon of buildings, as this is much easier to track and the results are immediate. Now it’s time for real innovation when reviewing embodied carbon.

The potential for buildings to be seen as material banks is exciting. If we design with reuse in mind, we can greatly reduce waste, create more sustainable projects, and even unlock financial value in materials that might have been discarded before.

Connect with Tom Crosthwaite on LinkedIn and stay tuned for more updates on how the Madaster team are working to reshape the future of real estate, one sustainable project at a time.