What makes Tom Robinson a Global Shaker?
Tom Robinson is founder and managing director of Adaptavate, an award-winning eco-firm that designs and produces progressive building materials at scale to mitigate climate change.
His eco-disruption in the construction industry earned him Shell LiveWIRE’s ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award in 2015.
Whilst working as a builder and a plasterer in Hackney, London, Robinson was struck by two major problems: the massive amount of waste (especially plasterboard), and what he called ‘unhealthy buildings’. These were buildings with trapped air and moisture that inevitably lead to health risks associated with damp and poor air conditioning.
In response, he created ‘Breathaboard’: a bio-based alternative to plasterboard which takes inspiration from natural materials to ‘lock’ carbon into the fabric of buildings. The sustainable, breathable plasterboard alternative regulates moisture in the internal environment, creating ‘safe air’, and is completely biodegradable and non-toxic.
Robinson has followed up the product with ‘Breathaplasta’, a quick setting lime plaster, and ‘Plaster Primer’, a breathable grip coat primer.
Last updated: April 29, 2019
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