Jul 28 2016
The Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), has compiled a comprehensive list of industry-wide Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for steel building products.
These EPDs summarize the results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) for specific steel products in the construction industry to describe their potential environmental impacts.
Construction professionals interested in viewing and using EPDs and other transparency resources in their building projects can visit www.buildusingsteel.org for a list of steel product EPDs and updates on other sustainability resources. Currently, the site includes EPDs for the following product categories:
- Cold-Formed Steel Studs and Track - Steel Recycling Institute
- Open Web Steel Joists - Steel Joist Institute
- Steel Roof Deck and Steel Floor Deck - Steel Deck Institute
- Roll-Formed Steel Panels (Canada) - Canadian Sheet Steel Building Institute
- Roll-Formed Steel Panels for Roofs and Walls - Metal Construction Association
- Insulated Metal Panels - Metal Construction Association
- Fabricated Steel Plate - American Institute of Steel Construction
- Fabricated Hot-Rolled Structural Sections - American Institute of Steel Construction
- Primary Structural Steel Frame Components - Metal Building Manufacturers Association
- Secondary Structural Steel Frame Components - Metal Building Manufacturers Association
- Roll-Formed Metal Wall and Roof Panels - Metal Building Manufacturers Association
"Similar to a nutrition label on food packaging, these environmental product declarations present concise information to help building professionals make better-informed product decisions," said Mark Thimons, vice president of sustainability for SMDI. "In an effort to be as transparent as possible, these steel industry EPDs are more comprehensive than those for many other building materials, creating a truly all-encompassing view of each product's environmental impacts."
Building professionals can use this list of EPDs to help earn credits in green building rating systems such as the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED v4, which offers opportunities for steel in a revamped materials section including credits for life cycle assessment, EPDs and transparency.
SMDI will update its list as the steel industry continues to develop EPDs to maintain an informative, up-to-date resource for building professionals interested in the sustainability of steel building products.
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI is comprised of 19 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and approximately 125 associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.