The embodied carbon of domestically produced and fabricated structural steel has dropped by more than 10% in the last few years alone.
Two new Smart EPD® Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) covering hot-rolled structural steel section production and the fabrication process for structural steel demonstrate a remarkable change from the last EPD, which was published by the American Institute of Steel Production (AISC) in 2021. John Beath Environmental, LLC, gathered the data that underpins the new EPDs.
“This double digit reduction in embodied carbon in such a short amount of time is a significant milestone for our industry and a clear demonstration of our commitment to producing and fabricating the world’s cleanest steel,” said AISC Vice President of Sustainability and Government Relations Brian Raff. “The data in these new EPDs shows that structural steel is a material that has a great sustainability story to tell and truly plays a significant role in reducing embodied carbon in the built environment.”
Three trends are driving the striking reduction in embodied carbon: less use of ore-based metallics (OBMs), a greener U.S. electrical grid, and more onsite renewable energy generation. The latter two factors are vital because hot-rolled structural steel members are made in electric arc furnaces, and most of the emissions associated with that production process come from the power grid instead of the furnace itself.
The new EPDs are intended to be used in tandem to represent the full impacts of hot-rolled structural steel sections, from the material’s initial production until it leaves for the jobsite. They are appropriate reference materials for those conducting whole building life cycle assessments (WBLCAs) of the built environment before specific procurement decisions are known. For more information, or to download the new EPDs and the John Beath Environmental report, please visit aisc.org/epds.