Reducing carbon in steel

The construction industry is coming under increasing pressure to become more sustainable and to minimise the carbon emissions and environmental impact of projects.

The major building materials used today, and likely to be used for centuries to come, all have some impact on the carbon content of a building project. This is true of concrete, bricks, steel, plastics and timber.

Steel yourself

Steel's sustainability credentials make a compelling case for its use in construction, with light gauge steel framing systems, such as Metsec SFS and Metframe, delivering additional benefits. These include:-

• Steel is easily recoverable and is 100% recyclable - SFS has a reuse and recovery rate of 85%, compared to just 13% for timber
• Reduction in a structure's embodied carbon by using less steel
• Accurate design and manufacturing processes result in virtually zero waste
• SFS is a lighter material, reducing the environmental impact of transportation

Steel manufacture is moving away from fossil-fuelled processing by using less carbon-intensive electric arc furnaces which are powered by renewable energy to create a reduced carbon steel, such as Metsec Decarb.

Available for Metsec SFS, Metframe, Purlins and internal non-loadbearing dry lining studs, Metsec Decarb is a true move towards a reduced carbon future for the construction industry, containing less than half the amount of carbon dioxide per tonne for the same quality of steel (accurate in July 2024).

The reductions in CO2 achievable with Metsec Decarb can be balanced against the 30-year London Plan offset charges or to help achieve other, ever-increasing sustainability targets.

Net Zero Carbon operations

There seems little point in a building materials/systems manufacturer offering a reduced carbon product if the same manufacturer is not committed to reducing the carbon dioxide emissions of its own operations.

Again, Voelstapine Metsec is stepping up to the plate; the company is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2035, with a focused effort throughout the company, which includes energy saving, process optimisation, sourcing green electricity and even generating its own renewable energy.

A carbon guarantee

Faced with a design brief to minimise a building's carbon footprint, steel might not be the first building material which comes to an architect's mind. But on closer inspection, steel, and reduced carbon steel in particular, offers a viable solution.

Specifiers can take added assurance of product/system credentials from verified manufacturer statements and EPDs which can be included in the final project's carbon assessments.