Steel Sector Sustainability Strategy

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 developments targets cannot be met without a fundamental change to the way in which buildings are constructed.

The steel sector comprising the British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA), Corus and the Steel Construction Institute (SCI) is delighted to be leading the way in developing a more sustainable construction industry in the UK. Our commitments range from producing design guidance on creating buildings that met the Government’s zero carbon objectives to researching the environmental; impacts of steel in buildings and developing products and processes to reduce that impact.

The steel construction sector in the UK embraces the push towards greater sustainability in construction. Steel itself is an inherently sustainable building material and is destined to play a significant role in helping the construction sector achieve its ambitious sustainability objectives.

Steel sector commitments

The steel construction sector is committed to:

• Working with Government to meet the objectives of its sustainable construction strategy
• Providing design guidance and information that allows designers to create buildings which reduce the whole-life costs and environmental burdens associated with buildings
• Providing design guidance and information that allows designers to create buildings that can achieve the highest BREEAM ratings and which meet Government aspirations for zero-carbon building operation.
• Developing patters of sustainable procurement consistent with the requirements of emerging standards in this area.
• Continuing to invest in research and development to reduce the carbon footprint of its processes and products.
• Providing industrial companies in the sector with the means of improving the performance of their business practices
• Giving specifiers and procurement agencies the opportunity to identify key supply chain partners that share a commitment to sustainable construction.

Sustainable Steel Construction

On Wednesday, 28th October 2009, BCSA and Corus launched a new Sustainable Steel Construction brochure. The brochure sets out the Steel Sector Sustainability Strategy and gives the steel construction industry's position and initiatives on key sustainability issues, as well as promoting the construction industry's position on delivering steel structures that are consistent with the Government's vision for sustainable construction.

Click here to download a copy of the 'Sustainable steel construction – Building a sustainable future' brochure.