The radical emission reductions expected by the EU are possible in Finnish construction, if building materials are evaluated equally, state the steel construction industry and steel builders. For emission reductions, construction legislation, the climate reports submitted for construction, and the various subsidies received by building materials must be reviewed.
1. Uniform and agreed life-cycle impact assessments are created
The Ministry of the Environment's wooden construction promotion programs emphasize the use of wood in public construction and planning. Similar programs should also be created for steel construction and based on the good recyclability and reuse properties of steel and steel construction parts, without forgetting the possibilities of fossil-free steel.
The programs must be based on fair and objective information. Uniform and approved verification procedures are needed to investigate the environmental effects of different solutions. Allocating development funds to construction promotion programs requires life-cycle impact assessments that cross system boundaries. For example, the emission calculation of wooden structures does not take into account the reduction of the carbon stock in forests and how much the modification of the forest floor and the waste left in the forest cause emissions. The increase in demand for construction wood has also been researched to have a negative effect on biodiversity.
2. The recycling and reuse potential should also be recognized in construction regulations
It would be wise for the climate assessment of the buildings under work to value more the recycling potential of the materials at the end of their life cycle. Metals that can be recycled for a long time and even indefinitely suffer from neglecting this value. Closed cycle materials such as steel can be recycled without limit without weakening their properties. The already established systems of steel structures also easily enable the reuse of structures, also saving resources for future generations.
Wood has good properties as an interior decoration material, but its modest life cycle and recyclability properties should be recognized. The national economic benefits of the new value chains of the circular economy are jeopardized if individual and poorly suitable materials for recycling are supported too much.
Realization of the functional requirements of buildings requires that legislation and official guidance support material-neutral construction.
3. Fossil-free steel and reuse of structures create new business and support the national economy
Steel construction and steel-based construction products and services represent an industry in Finland with an annual turnover of one billion euros. The Nordic steel industry has a unique goal of renewing ore-based steel production to become fossil-free already within this decade, which, together with the reuse of steel, will benefit the entire value chain and the national economy.
When you take into account the very high recycling rate of steel and the functioning systems that maintain it, the reuse potential of structures and profiles, and the considerable possibility of reuse, emissions from production can be significantly reduced.
- Appendix: Rotation of the building's different frame materials (pdf)
More information
Teräsrakenneyhdistys ry
Timo Koivisto, CEO
timo.koivisto@terasrakenneyhdistys.fi
tel. 050 408 1163
Jyrki Kesti
Chairman of the board of Teräsrakkenyhdistys ry
tel. 040 553 0553
Leena Lundell
Board member of Teräsrakkenyhdistys ry (representative of manufacturers)
tel. 044 522 3054