Preconstruction Technical Director, Jonathan Davis shares why the UK steel sector needs to play a role in educating its construction partners in creating a dual decarbonisation strategy that promotes a sustainable steel supply chain that helps achieve the sector’s NetZero targets and manages the transition of the entire supply chain to low carbon steel production methods.

UK Steel fabricators and producers have been reducing their carbon output for decades to stay lean and efficient. This has been primarily through the adoption of more sustainable business practices, including increase in scrap contents used within Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF), meaning that carbon generated during steel production has naturally declined over the past 20 years.

At the same time, clients have been adopting innovative strategies to reduce the operational energy of their buildings. Reports including the 2018 UKGBC’s Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap suggested that 71% of the UK built environment’s carbon footprint came from its operational emissions. Since then, it also became clear that similar efforts were required to reduce the embodied carbon associated with developments and this has become the prevailing trend.

However, this focus on carbon at a project level does not always capture the nuances of global carbon reduction strategies and is placing significant pressure on UK steel suppliers as they transition to greener production methods.

That’s because, although the client focus on embodied carbon at a project level is commendable, it inadvertently dictates certain procurement routes with a preference for Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Steel from Europe. Although European suppliers are an integral part of the supply chain this preference means BOF Steel, which is typically produced in the UK, is often overlooked because BOF furnaces produce higher carbon emissions per tonne of steel.

Some clients will argue, quite rightly, that this focus on a project level has helped stimulate a transition to low carbon solutions as UK BOF suppliers have needed to commit to a NetZero pathway in reaction to market stimulation.

And that’s true as UK steel companies have responded! TATA Steel UK’s plans to transition to EAF production is an example, as were the original plans to support British Steel in building a new EAF facility in Scunthorpe. The industry waits to see which direction British Steel will go, choosing between a similar EAF option to that pursued by TATA or an alternative solution that is seen to preserve more jobs in the area. This still means that the UK will have low carbon products to rival offshore suppliers by 2028 / 2030.

However, this also means that the transition period between now and then becomes extremely important for UK Steel. In this interim period, those of us in the industry need to work hard with our partners to share knowledge on how to make the most sustainable choices for the long-term, which in turn will offer a just transition for our domestic steel sector.

One of the big reasons is that sustainability is not just about carbon. Ignoring UK suppliers has regional social consequences. If they are not supported through this transition period, with greener infrastructure costing around £2BN per facility, they won’t be able to justify the support to make it happen. The result will not simply be the lack of a UK low carbon steel sector, but a constrained UK steel capacity that would result in greater dependency on offshore steel.

With the market stimulated and UK suppliers committed to their NetZero strategies we need to collectively reduce the amount of materials we use to truly affect global carbon consumption. Using less steel therefore becomes the priority while the supply chain transitions.

This philosophy favours the refurbishment and extension of existing building stock over demolition and rebuild, ensuring embedded carbon isn’t wasted.

This presents two opportunities for the steel sector. The first is to play our role in the design of new schemes and structural elements, ensuring lean design principles are complemented by appropriate material specification and secondly to promote retention, refurbishment and reuse of steel where possible.

Early engagement with fabricators and producers ensures industry expertise can complement the innovative designs being produced by the client teams. When to re-use steel, when to specify high strength materials, how to minimise costs associated with stitching new structure to existing ones are all things the supply chain can give a pragmatic view on to ensure the carbon benefits associated with these initiatives can be baked into the projects.

For example, where partial or full demolition is required, we need to encourage clients to ‘reuse’ that stock into the circular economy.

This could be by demonstrating how it can be put back into their new building or, critically, back into the broader economy for use by others, something not currently enthusiastically embraced by the sector.

Finally, we need to demonstrate the versatility of steel and show how it can be used successfully with alternative materials that complement its circular attributes but produce less carbon in production. Using timber alongside steel in the likes of Timber Floor Cassettes in hybrid structures, is one such alternative which produces less carbon for an equally effective product solution.

If we can successfully achieve this last point, we can drive greater innovation in more blended solutions that embrace all parts of the supply chain and make a greater contribution to meeting NetZero targets. In doing so we will give clients the best solution that considers both global and local decarbonisation goals.

Ultimately there is no silver bullet to decarbonisation, it’s going to take considerable collaboration between the UK construction sector, steel fabricators and producers to create a sustainable future for a low carbon steel sector. In order to achieve a managed transition, there needs to be a long-term view on reducing carbon as part of the procurement process, but the UK steel sector needs to take on the mantle of demonstrating that we have the right expertise and product solutions to be a viable choice. If we succeed, the result will be a robust, sustainable steel sector which will naturally be lower in carbon for UK based projects.