How Aluminium Can Reduce The Carbon Footprint Of The Construction Industry

Did you know, the construction industry is responsible for 39% of all carbon emissions in the world? 

With the population continually rising, there’s a constant demand for buildings and houses. It’s now more critical than ever for the construction industry to focus on making a change and reducing their carbon footprint. 

The World Green Building Council (World GBC) has a bold vision to make all buildings net-zero by 2050, which is only possible by eliminating all embodied carbon emissions. 

11% of these carbon emissions are a result of ‘upfront’ carbon, which is essentially the materials and construction processes. Some of the most common building materials such as concrete and timber are the most harmful to the environment. 

Shockingly, concrete accounts for 8% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, it’s the most commonly used man-made material on earth. Logging, or cutting down trees in forests to harvest timber for wood, results in deforestation, one of the primary causes of climate change. 

It’s no secret that the construction industry needs to make a change, but how? There’s one material that can make a significant difference - Aluminium. 

The Benefits Of Aluminium In Construction: 

According to the U.K. Green Building Council, the construction industry uses more than 400 million tons of material a year, with the majority having a detrimental effect on the environment. Although aluminium is among these used materials, it’s still not as widely used as others, including the popular metal steel. Even though aluminium possesses similar qualities to steel and is a proven contributor to the reduction of constructions carbon footprint, it’s still used less frequently. For a fundamental change to be made, aluminium needs to become more commonly used, but what are its other benefits? 

Aluminium is an extremely versatile metal with a rare combination of valuable properties and an array of benefits that make it an ideal building material. To name a few, it’s lightweight, extremely flexible, durable and a great electricity conductor. 

It’s well known for its ability to be formed into a variety of shapes without weakening and it can be fabricated to suit a whole variety of uses. It’s the combination of properties mean that it can be easily shaped by any of the main industrial metalworking processes, including rolling, extrusion, forging and casting, guaranteeing virtually unlimited design potential.

One of aluminium’s most desirable features is it’s extremely lightweight, it’s about a third of the weight of steel. This means it can be designed to be thicker and stronger but it’s more manageable on-site and cheaper to transport than other materials. 

Aluminium is corrosion resistant due to its surface having a natural protective coating, this makes it highly resistant to most environments and a great variety of chemical agents. This thin coating is generated when aluminium comes into contact with an oxidising environment such as water, and as a result, it reduces the rate of maintenance on a building. 

Another appealing feature is its ability to effectively insulate a building, it can be four times more effective than uninsulated timber cladding, 100mm of brick, or 200mm of stone masonry.

However, none of these top aluminium’s environmentally friendly benefits...

How It Can Reduce Construction’s Carbon Footprint: 

So, we’ve heard the benefits of using aluminium, but how can it reduce the carbon footprint of the construction industry? 

Aluminium is arguably the most sustainable building material in the world. It’s highly recyclable and during the process doesn’t lose any of its original properties. As a result of this, the material can be reused on other buildings, ensuring minimal waste. According to the Environment Agency, a record 40,653 tonnes of aluminium packaging was collected for recycling in Q2 2020.  

It’s believed that around 75% of all aluminium produced is still circulating in some type of form. Due to its reusable nature, it can be endlessly manufactured whilst remaining to the same high quality. This makes it an ideal building material as it can be repurposed to suit different areas of a building, including roofing, windows, wall panels and doors. 

With materials such as concrete and timber having a significant role to play in the construction's carbon footprint, it’s encouraging to learn that aluminium can be used as an alternative material in some circumstances. This includes exterior cladding and batten systems, which can be used for a building’s appearance and structural reinforcement.

A product of aluminium known as ‘Endurawood’, can replicate the look of natural wood, yet it’s formed by a volatile organic compound and it’s lead-free, resulting in yet another environmental benefit of aluminium!  

There are other environmentally friendly options on the market, such as straw or compressed earth, but they don’t possess the strength for a building’s structure, which makes aluminium the leading sustainable material in the world. 

Although there’s a lot of industries and elements that contribute to the environmental crisis we’re facing, it’s clear that the construction industry is a key contributor and something needs to change, fast. 

Even though 40% of the UK’s annual aluminium production is used in construction, unfortunately, steel remains the primary metal used in the industry. This proves that there’s still a long journey ahead to reach net-zero emissions, but considering a material such as aluminium is a step in the right direction. If the industry is serious about reducing its carbon footprint, the time to take action is now!

If you want to switch to a more environmentally friendly material, Love Aluminium can help. We pride ourselves on being a leading aluminium extrusion supplier, providing bespoke extrusions to customers across the UK. 

We’ve established relationships with some of the premier suppliers of aluminium extrusions in the UK and across Europe. This enables us to find you the most suitable and cost-effective extrusion profile suppliers to meet your specific needs. Our bespoke extrusions offer unrivalled customisation of aluminium profiles and components for use within a variety of applications and industries, from single shapes to full sizes.

With the construction industry being responsible for an astonishing amount of the world’s carbon emissions, they have the potential to make a significant change if they reduce their carbon footprint. 

By switching to aluminium, you can be part of that change too. 

0333 4560121 | www.lovealuminium.co.uk