We must take care of the natural environment if it’s going to be able to keep taking care of us!
One way that businesses are taking steps toward this goal is by using sustainable steel. Many of the features that make steel ideal for construction also makes it an environmentally ethical choice.
In this blog post, you will learn why people are turning toward sustainable metal buildings in their construction projects and some of the advantages that reduce costs and increase longevity.
Sustainable Steel’s Unique Features
Steel is durable, recyclable, and useful for thousands of applications, as proven by the many metal buildings built and designed by Pascal Steel. Steel has a long useful life; once it does wear out, it can be re-purposed; and the material’s versatility make it useful for nearly any type of building.
Steel’s Durability
Any material that needs frequent repairs or replacements suffers in the sustainability department. Steel is not such a material.
- Unlike wood, steel is immune to problems like rotting or termite infestations.
- Compared to wood or concrete, steel is much more durable, as it will not crack.
- Steel that has zinc coating can last for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
- Steel frames have more flexibility to withstand earthquakes.
Wooden or stone structures almost always require more lumber or resources for repairs, meaning more of the earth’s natural resources will be expended.
Steel buildings have no such ongoing impact on the environment. Minimal maintenance of metal building components cuts down on emissions from sources like repair crews traveling to the site and using power equipment.
Steel’s Recyclability
Steel is the world’s most recycled material — in fact, more steel is recycled than all other recyclable materials combined!
The majority of all steel is melted down and repurposed at the end of its first use. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, “North America alone recycles 65 million tons of steel annually,” and “recycling steel saves the equivalent energy to power about 18 million households for a year.”
Steel can be used over and over again because it does not lose strength once it’s recycled. But how does steel recycling work? At the end of its current
At the end of its current lifecycle, steel comes to a refinery. Then, the refinery melts the steel down. At that point it can be sold to a mill or foundry, which will reshape the steel to serve a new purpose.
Steel’s Versatility
As a leading steel company in California, Pascal Steel has had many opportunities to work on varied building construction projects, showing steel’s versatility.
We have built farm buildings, fitness centers, aircraft hangars, self-storage facilities, and all other manner of pre-engineered metal buildings.
Steel’s versatility lends itself well to sustainability; for instance, custom steel structures have the ability to incorporate photo-voltaic solar panels into any project.
Our personal favorite energy-generating steel structure is solar carports.
Steel’s Affordability
The aforementioned versatility of steel boosts its affordability. Custom designs do not waste excess material on features or space a customer doesn’t need. Additionally, many steel buildings can be at least partially assembled off-site, construction costs are lower: Less time and labor is needed on-site.
Sustainable steel production puts out less CO2 and requires less energy than aluminum and magnesium.
According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, “each ton of steel is now produced with 31 percent less energy intensity than in 1990, and CO2 emissions have dropped 36 percent.”
Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency found that “overall emissions dropped by 67 percent between 1990 and 2005.”
Design Your Custom Sustainable Steel Building
With the material’s long initial lifespan, its ability to be recycled virtually indefinitely, and its countless uses in building applications, and you can see why sustainable steel is an excellent choice for construction projects.
Please contact the experts at Pascal Steel today to learn more about how you can use sustainable steel in your building projects.
How Can We Help?
Contact us if you have any questions and to learn more about your options. At Pascal Steel, we are delighted to show you how steel can make the buildings of your dreams a sustainable reality.