The American Institute of Steel Construction has released updated environmental product declarations (EPDs) “to help designers and building owners design more environmentally friendly buildings and bridges,” according to an AISC news release.
The organization develops industry-average environmental product declarations (EPDs) for three products: fabricated hot-rolled structural sections, fabricated steel plate, and fabricated hollow structural sections (HSS)—the latter developed with the Steel Tube Institute. “These documents are designed to facilitate an accurate, apples-to-apples comparison of the structural materials on the market today,” the release says. These documents are updated every five years.
“Many people associate steel with old smokestacks and air pollution, but structural steel is now the premier green building material,” said AISC President Charles J. Carter, SE, PE, PhD. “Over the past three decades, the steel industry has reduced greenhouse gas and overall emissions by 36%. And the American structural steel industry is leading the way to a greener future with a carbon footprint nearly half the world average. By comparison, Chinese structural steel has three times the global warming potential of domestic steel.”
Many rating systems (LEED V4), standards (ASHRAE 189.1), green building codes (IgCC), and specific customers require the submission of environmental product declarations (EPDs) for products delivered to the project site. These EPD life-cycle assessments provide information on environmental impacts related to the manufacture of the product, including global warming potential, ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication, and ozone creation.
AISC works with its mill members to develop industry average EPDs for structural steel produced in the United States. In addition to quantifying the impacts of the mill processes, the EPD work quantifies the industry average per ton environmental impacts of the fabrication process.
Related Stories
| Aug 2, 2013
Netherlands Institute of Ecology built to zero waste principles
The Netherlands Institute of Ecology was designed and built to be the most sustainable building in Holland and incorporate the zero waste principles of Cradle-to-Cradle design.
| Aug 2, 2013
Threat of more powerful coastal storms could curtail development
Led by Stanford University’s Natural Capital Project, researchers mapped the intensity of hazards posed to communities living along America’s coastlines from rising seas and ferocious storms now and in the decades to come.
| Jul 26, 2013
AGC launches new coalition to help bring tax relief to construction sector
Associated General Contractor of America (AGC) has launched the Coalition for Fair Effective Tax Rates to bring tax relief to the construction sector.
| Jul 26, 2013
Legislation would revamp federal contracting policy impacting small design and construction firms
Legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representative this month to ban reverse auctions when an agency determines small businesses are qualified to bid on the solicitation.
| Jul 26, 2013
Detroit’s problems may make blue infrastructure codes more likely
The City of Detroit’s financial problems may make it more likely to adopt blue infrastructure standards.
| Jul 26, 2013
Cities should reconsider rooming houses to build affordable housing stock, says expert
Building codes have effectively outlawed the bottom end of the private housing market, driving up rents on everything above it, argues the Sightline Institute's Alan Durning.
| Jul 17, 2013
WorldGBC, IFC pledge to rapidly scale up green construction in emerging markets
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) are collaborating to rapidly scale up the construction of green buildings in emerging markets.
| Jul 17, 2013
Louisiana governor signs $250 million bill for 29 community college projects
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal signed into law this month a bill that provides $251.6 million for 29 projects at Louisiana Community and Technical College campuses.
| Jul 17, 2013
U.S. House continues to block enforcement of light bulb standards
The House of Representatives last week voted to block the enforcement of light bulb standards that many say would effectively force people to buy more expensive compact fluorescent bulbs.
| Jul 17, 2013
Should city parking space requirements be abolished?
Some cities are deliberately discouraging construction of new parking spaces by allowing the construction of buildings with a lower ratio of parking spaces to dwellings (as low as 0.75 spaces per residence).
