It’s one of the biggest challenges in reducing embodied carbon but now there’s a locally produced, sustainable steel that delivers lower embodied carbon, without requiring any extra effort from designers, engineers, builders, processors or steel fixers.
Decarbonising the construction industry might just be the most significant challenge we face in achieving net zero. While there’s been significant innovation and progress, the Australian construction industry is still burdened with generating almost 20 per cent of the nation’s carbon footprint1. Much of the progress to date has come from reducing operational carbon as owners and developers implement more efficient ways of powering their new structures.
It makes sense that this has been the initial focus: carbon emissions from the operation of buildings have been proportionally the largest contributor to a project’s total emissions2. As the energy grid pushes towards decarbonisation, embodied carbon is becoming a focus – with building materials as a key part of this.
Steel in particular has garnered attention, due to its complex sustainability story. On one hand, steel’s enduring strength contributes to long-lasting structures. It’s also highly recyclable: it’s referred to as both the world’s most recyclable material and the world’s most recycled material by its proponents3.
Through partnerships with Monash University and the University of New South Wales, and leveraging its own customer insights, InfraBuild created a range of lower-embodied carbon steel product solutions.
However, steel’s manufacturing process has traditionally been emissions intensive. This narrative is now transforming, as new, more environmentally conscious solutions come to fruition in the Australian market.
The focus is now on creating steel that utilises less raw material with the same load capacity. However, from design to development, choosing a lower-embodied carbon steel involves multiple stakeholders, all interacting with each other in complex ways. Engineers, architects, builders, steel fixers and processors all need to be aligned. In short, choosing sustainable steel needs to be the easy choice if it is to facilitate the construction industry’s rapid, necessary decarbonisation.
Making change make sense
To create something that makes change easy isn’t easy. InfraBuild, the only Australian manufacturer of reinforcing steels, sought to tackle this challenge as part of its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030.
Through partnerships with Monash University and the University of New South Wales, and leveraging its own customer insights, InfraBuild created a range of lower-embodied carbon steel product solutions.
InfraBuild’s SENSE 600® delivers lower embodied carbon, without requiring any extra effort from designers, engineers, builders, processors or steel fixers.
Engineers can use their existing design software and processors can use the same equipment for scheduling and identification. Steel fixers follow the same steps with the same number of steel bars. Stakeholders don’t need to change their processes to benefit from an improved, sustainable construction solution.
Australian business leaders now have a locally produced, sustainable steel that achieves their dual goals of supporting local industry and reducing their material transport emissions.
Using up to 16.7 per cent less raw material to produce a product with the same load capacity and made from 100 per cent scrap, SENSE 600® delivers a lower embodied carbon solution of up to 35 per cent compared to standard 500N reinforcing steel.
SENSE 600® meets existing Australian compliance standards, so there are no extra steps in the certification process. It’s also CodeMark certified and conforms to AS/NZS 4671.
The Australian construction industry now has an accessible, locally produced choice: one that can facilitate rapid change. These sorts of innovations provide clarity amongst the complexity: providing a clear path forward for the construction industry’s decarbonisation journey.
You can find more information on the SENSE Solutions product range here.
- Yu, et.al. (2016). ‘The Carbon Footprint of Australia’s Construction Sector’, Procedia Engineering, Volume 180, 2017, Pages 211-220 ↩︎
- GBCA and thinkstep-anz. (2021). Embodied Carbon and Embodied Energy in Australia’s Buildings. Sydney: Green Building Council of Australia and thinkstep-anz. ↩︎
- World Steel Organisation (2018). World Steel in Figures. Brussels: World Steel Association. ↩︎
