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Sustainable construction common methods of performance
evaluation of products across the EEA
Construction has an important role to play in
• Landfill Directive (99/31/EC) which bans
delivering sustainable development because of
co-disposal of wastes and bans or
both its contribution to the UK economy (8% of
restricts landfilling of other waste streams
GDP), and the significant environmental and
social impacts that buildings and other • EC Regulation No 2037/2000 on ozone
structures can have. The impacts of the UK depleting substances
construction industry include: • Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC)
which sets emission controls on
• production and operation of buildings
incineration plants
accounts for around 50% of the UK’s
total energy consumption • Directive on the energy performance of
buildings (2002/91/EC).
• the construction industry consumes
more than 420 million tonnes of
materials every year The benefits of sustainable
construction
• construction and demolition generates
some 70 million tonnes every year. A sustainable business is a well run, efficient
and profitable enterprise; its long-term
The drivers for more viability relies upon its relationships with all
sustainable construction off its stakeholders. Whether investors,
owners, suppliers, employees or customers,
Government strategy is to encourage all the aspirations of all stakeholder groups need
sectors of industry to adopt more sustainable to be understood and balanced to ensure the
policies and practices voluntarily. This long-term success of an organisation.
encouragement comes with the implicit
warning that failure to do so will result in Companies that do not comply with relevant
legislation, in the form of regulations and fiscal environmental legislation or change their
measures. Examples already influencing business practices to minimise the impact of
construction industry practice include: related fiscal measures will find it increasingly
difficult to survive, let alone prosper!
• tightening of the thermal performance
requirements in the Building Business benefits of becoming more
Regulations [3] sustainable include:
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Steel construction sector’s recycled without degradation of
sustainable development properties. Surveys indicate that more
strategy than 90% of steel from construction is
recovered for recycling or reuse.
In December 2002, the steel construction
• Off-site manufacture facilitates less
sector formally launched its sustainable
itinerant working conditions that, in
development strategy.
addition to being safer, promotes
Developed by Corus, SCI and BCSA, in stability in the workplace, encourages
consultation with all parts of the sector, the skills development and fosters good
strategy reviews progress made in moving local community relations.
towards sustainability and sets out the
agenda for a more sustainable future. The The way forward
MCRMA and its members contributed to the
development of the strategy, subscribe to its More remains to be done however and to
goals and are supporting its implementation. move forward, the sector strategy outlines 25
Key messages of the strategy are shown new initiatives to support more sustainable
below. construction. It also outlines the sector’s
long-term commitment to sustainability by
outlining programmes of work to:
Key messages
• improve supply chain engagement and
A review of the steel construction sector’s
reporting
current position has demonstrated that:
• support the selection of responsible
• Steel construction is efficient, contractors
competitive and makes a significant
• encourage the adoption of
contribution to the national economy.
environmental reporting
• Buildings can be rapidly constructed
• support the development and
using steel-based components that are
acquisition of information required by
efficiently manufactured off-site and
the industry to enable informed
therefore are of high quality and with
decision-making
few defects.
• evaluate progress and awareness and
• Steel framing and cladding systems
develop measurable targets.
provide the scope, in association with
other materials, to design buildings The full version of the strategy can be
with low overall environmental downloaded from the websites hosted by
impacts. Corus, SCI and BCSA at:
• Steel-based construction systems
www.corusconstruction.com
provide flexible spaces which have the
potential to be easily modified and www.steel-sci.org
adapted so that the life of the building
www.steelconstruction.org
can be extended by accommodating
changes in use, layout and size.
• Steel is 100% recyclable and can be
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Sustainability benefits of Rapid construction minimises plant hire
composite floor construction costs, in particular cranage. The use of the
decking as a safe working platform during
Composite flooring systems offer clients and construction, speeds up the work of other
designers a number of benefits which and follow-on trades and offers logistical
address the social, environmental and benefits on congested sites. The minimal
economic dimensions of sustainable steel reinforcement required can be fixed
construction. quickly and large areas of floor poured using
pumped concrete.
Speed of construction
By shortening the construction programme,
Composite flooring systems facilitate fast- the impacts on neighbours and the public
track construction; up to 400m2 of decking within the vicinity of the construction site,
can be installed by one team in a day! such as noise, dust and traffic congestion
Speed, simplicity of design and affinity for are minimised.
steel-framed buildings make composite floors
the system of choice where time, and hence Resource efficiency
speed of construction, are key drivers.
Composite flooring systems are structurally
Steel decking can be ordered ‘off-the-peg’ efficient, thereby minimising the resources
and delivered to order, efficiently stacked on used in constructing the building (particularly
lorries that can carry many square metres of concrete) and reducing the waste generated
decking in a single load.
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when it is necessary to deconstruct it. Less Off-site manufacture
concrete means fewer site deliveries and
less localised traffic congestion. Composite steel decking is manufactured
from coils of hot-dipped galvanised steel
Composite floor systems are stiffer, stronger sheet. The coil, which is typically only 0.7 to
and lighter than many other floor systems. 1.25mm thick, is split to the required width,
This means that the weight and size of the cold, roll-formed to the required profile and
primary structure and the foundations can cut to length as specified by the designer.
often be reduced; again minimising resource The fully automated process is fast and
consumption and end-of-life waste generation. efficient producing decking with very few
defects. Consequently, steel wastage is
Economic benefits minimal (typically only 1-2%) and is 100%
recycled into new steel products. There are
The benefits of fast construction and
no emissions to air or water.
resource efficiency translate directly into
economic benefits to the client.
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Factory working facilitates accurate and Research undertaken by Oxford Brookes
quality workmanship, and also reduces University [4] has dispelled the myth that
dependence on itinerant site workers, so ‘heavy’ buildings are required to achieve high
fostering the development of family life and levels of fabric energy storage and proved
local community relationships and that relatively light steel frames, and
encouraging staff development and retention. associated composite or other types of floor
slab, are able to provide high levels of fabric
Fabric thermal storage energy storage. Furthermore, because they
minimise material use, they offer other
In multi-storey, commercial office buildings, positive environmental benefits.
cooling is often the most significant
operational energy use.
Flexibility and adaptability
Fabric energy storage, or thermal capacity, is
By extending the life of buildings greater
a measure of the amount of energy that the
value is extracted from the materials used to
structure of a building can absorb. Excess
construction them. Composite construction,
heat energy stored in the building fabric
in particular when used with long-spanning
during the day is removed by overnight
steel frames, can create large, open and
cooling, for example by blowing cool night air
flexible spaces which can accommodate
over the flooring system.
changes of use in response to the changing
needs of the building owner or occupier.
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End-of-life 7. Engage organisations within your
supply chain about sustainable
Steel can be recycled again and again development.
without degradation in terms of its properties
or performance. The recovery rate of steel 8. Select responsible contractors who
construction products from UK demolition have embraced sustainable
sites is more than 90% [5]. An established, development principles.
international infrastructure ensures that scrap
steel is efficiently and economically References
recovered, traded and recycled.
1 A Better Quality of Life: The Strategy
for Sustainable Development for the
What can you do? UK. Department of the Environment,
Below are eight guiding principles to Transport and Regions. 1999.
implement more sustainable construction. 2 Climate Change 2001: The Scientific
1. Understand what sustainable Basis. The Intergovernmental Panel
development means for you, your on Climate Change.
clients and your customers. 3 The Building Regulations 2000.
2. Use whole life thinking, best value Approved Document L1: Conservation
considerations and high quality of fuel and power in dwellings and
information to inform your decision- Approved Document L2: Conservation
making. of fuel and power in buildings other than
dwellings. The Stationery Office, 2002.
3. Design to minimise operational
environmental impacts. 4 Ogden, R and Kendrick, C (1997)
Thermal capacity of steel-framed
4. Where possible, extend the life of
buildings. The Steel Construction
buildings by renovation and
Institute.
refurbishment.
5 Ley, J., Sansom, M. and Kwan, A.
5. Design for flexibility, to extend
(2002): Material flow analysis of the
building lifetimes.
UK steel construction sector.
6. Use products and materials that Conference proceedings from steel in
can be easily and efficiently sustainable construction: IISI World
recycled. Conference 2002, Luxembourg.