Buildings and Sustainability
Buildings are responsible for almost half of the UK’s carbon emissions, half of its water consumption, around a third of its landfill waste and a quarter of all raw materials used in the economy. This means that the UK’s sustainable development targets cannot be met without a fundamental change to the way in which buildings are designed, constructed and operated.
The steel construction sector is playing a major part in overcoming this challenge by contributing to national targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions and the drive for buildings that are ‘zero carbon’ in operation.
Sustainability of Steel
Steel is one of the more sustainable building materials being 100% recyclable, thus being able to be reused indefinitely without the need for new steel to be produced, in fact steel is the most recycled material in the world. This minimises waste significantly within the steel building industry.
A major steel producer in the UK, Tata Steel is committed to sustainability and recycles or reuses over 90% of its process residues, which is used to create the flashings that we use in our projects. The steel construction sector also has impressive sustainability figures, with current recovery rates from demolition sites in the UK at 99% for structural steelwork and 96% (on average) for all steel construction products, which are far higher than those for any other construction material.
Strength and Malleability of Steel
Amongst all other building materials, steel is known for its sheer strength. If you were to design a bridge that would support a weight 50,000lbs, to achieve the same strength as steel you would need approximately 20 times the amount of wood to achieve the same strength. This visualisation shows how little steel is actually needed to create such a strong structure. Not only is it incredibly strong, steel is very malleable, meaning specific designs can be optimised, further reducing waste.
How can Springfield Steel Buildings Help?
With over 20 years’ experience in construction and engineering behind us, our designers will work with you during the design process keeping you informed and offering value engineered solutions to ensure that you are getting the most for your investment.
Our technical department can quickly draw a 3D concept building to show you the appearance without the expense of architects at the costing stage.
The services we provide can be delivered competitively on a nationwide basis. We provide a full set of structural drawings and structural calculations for building control approval. This service is included free of charge with all our steel buildings. To discuss your sustainable steel building requirements, please contact Springfield Steel Buildings to speak with one of our expert advisors. You can reach us by phone at 01482 304504 or by email at sales@springfieldsteelbuildings.com
