An innovative and sustainable steel product – developed by world-leading metal recycler EMR – has been shortlisted for the sought-after Net-Zero Award at the upcoming Building Awards.
EMR’s ultra-low carbon Reusable Steel – which reduces emissions by 97.5% compared to traditional steel alternatives – offers architects, developers and construction firms access to a circular supply chain for steel products, as the industry looks to decarbonise in the years ahead.
By selecting, removing, testing and refabricating steel sections from buildings which have reached their first end of life, EMR delivers a quality product that avoids the processes involved with the production of new steel sections. The benefits are dramatic: EMR’s Reusable Steel creates 47kg CO2e per tonne compared with the World Steel Association’s global average for steelmaking of 1,850kg CO2e – a 97.5% reduction.
EMR’s Reusable Steel can therefore significantly reduce the embodied carbon of new or refurbished developments whilst creating a virtuous circular economy supply chain.
It is also the world’s first reusable steel product to achieve an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) allowing customers to understand and recognise its independently verified low carbon performance.
Winners of this year’s Building Awards will be revealed on 7 November at an event at the Grosvenor House Hotel in central London. Also shortlisted for the awards are projects by AECOM, Lloyds Banking Group, the Mayor of London, and Turner & Townsend.
Bill Firth, General Manager for Business Development at EMR, says:
“At EMR, we’re very proud of the huge reduction in emissions that our Reusable Steel has achieved, compared to traditional steel alternatives. It’s exceptionally rewarding to see this effort recognised by the Building Awards judging panel.
“Our built environment is filled with high-quality steel and a huge amount of embodied carbon. Reusable Steel helps keep that carbon ‘locked in’ by keeping these materials in circulation. We are providing a product that can readily substitute higher carbon new steel sections which is facilitating the rapid uptake of Reusable Steel sections. This is only possible because of the level of technical and engineering support that we wrap into our service as we aim to make Reusable Steel a mainstream material choice.
“Reusable Steel is already helping construction firms in the UK slash their carbon emissions. And, as we see more and more structures being built with Reusable Steels we are moving beyond the possible to achieving practical and scale decarbonisation of the built environment.”
