Steel Sustainability in the Construction Market

Steel has become one of the most reliable, most used and most important materials of the age. - National Institute of Standards and Technology

As an advanced engineered material, steel is the material of choice by engineers and architects because of its strong performance characteristics, durability, reliability, versatility in design and consistency as a product.

Life cycle assessments (LCAs) have been conducted comparing steel-framed buildings to wood-framed buildings in different parts of the country and have demonstrated that steel buildings can result in lower environmental impacts than functionally-equivalent wood buildings. In addition, a peer-reviewed study comparing hot-dip galvanized (HDG) steel coils produced in North America, primarily used in the construction and automotive sectors, to the same product produced in China and shipped to the North American market found that the coil sourced from China results in nearly 50 percent higher GHG emissions.

Steel’s attributes, including its inherent durability and recyclability, make it vital to modern society. The North American steel industry is committed to manufacturing innovative products and implementing processes that achieve environmental, social and economic sustainability.

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