The GCC region is increasingly focusing on sustainability, requiring the construction sector to deliver greener structures. This has generated challenges and opportunities alike for the reinforcing steel supply chain, says LEE BRANKLEY and AYHAN TUGRUL of Cares*.

01 July 2012

THE rapidly increasing demand for greener buildings and infrastructure in the Gulf region presents both challenges and opportunities in relation to the structural materials used, especially reinforcing steel.

Accurate, accessible and timely information on the environmental and social impact of using different materials is increasingly desired by designers, contractors and procurers to satisfy green building rating systems. These systems award credits based on the environmental impact of materials and on materials responsibly sourced, aiming to encourage the use of products with lower environmental impacts over their lifecycle, and to recognise and encourage the specification of responsibly sourced structural materials.

The Cares Sustainable Reinforcing Steel (SRS) scheme provides a means by which approved firms in the reinforcing steel supply chain are able to declare product and organisational level sustainability performance and achieve credits in the green building rating schemes such as Estidama, Breeam (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) and Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) used in the Gulf region (Tables 1 and 2).

Link for Table 1:

Link for Table 2:

The Cares initiative supports Abu Dhabi’s Plan 2030 and the green building rating system Estidama, which has embedded sustainability at the heart of any new development that takes place in the UAE emirate, reiterating its commitment to the environment and challenging the construction industry to improve standards and performance in the built environment. The key features and benefits of the Cares SRS scheme include:

• Product traceability (chain of custody) to production source and manufacturing process;

• Independently validated carbon footprint data of the reinforcing steel;

• All firms in the Cares-approved supply chain have a certified environmental management system to ISO 14001;

• It complies with BS 8902 2009 for responsible sourcing sector schemes; and

• It enables the Cares-approved reinforcing steel supply chain to achieve the award of the credits against the materials evaluation criteria in Estidama, Leed and Breeam.

Product traceability (chain of custody): The supply chain for reinforcing steel – which involves its production, distribution, processing and delivery to a construction site – is complex. It is important to recognise that steel used in construction projects may come from manufacturers based all over the world. It is vitally important that the suppliers of these steels are independently verified as being proficient and trustworthy, so that the use of material of dubious or unknown origin, and hence unknown properties and performance, is avoided.

Cares requires an unbroken chain between the steel producer and the construction site, thus enabling the local end-user to know the production source and manufacturing processes used. All reinforcing steels produced by approved firms are uniquely identified. When steel arrives onsite, no further testing is required. This results in avoidance of undue and costly delays at the construction site.

Cares carbon footprint tool: Product carbon footprint data can vary significantly depending on who prepares the data, what assumptions have been made, which allocation methods are used and where organisational boundaries are drawn. To understand an individual supplier’s product carbon footprint, the end-user is required to critically examine each methodology before the data can be used with confidence.

The Cares carbon footprint tool – developed in partnership with industry and a global company in the provision of LCA (life cycle analysis) consulting services – addresses the above issues by providing a consistent basis to assess the product carbon footprint associated with the production of either carbon or stainless reinforcing steel products from “cradle-to-gate”, that is, from the point at which raw materials are extracted from the environment to the point at which the finished product is ready to leave the factory. This approach facilitates comparison of different suppliers’ product carbon footprint data.

Compliance with BS 8902: The Cares SRS scheme complies with BS 8902¹, which provides a framework for the management, development, content and operation of sector certification schemes for responsible sourcing and supply of construction products.

By adopting the BS 8902 framework, Cares and reinforcing steel industry stakeholders have developed an objective and workable approach to the identification, collection, auditing and reporting of sustainable performance data. Cares is aiming to achieve Ukas (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) accreditation against BS 8902 in the very near future.

Compliance with green building rating systems: The Cares scheme provides a means by which approved firms in the reinforcing steel supply chain are able to declare product and organisational level sustainability performance and achieve credits in green building rating schemes such as Estidama, Breeam and Leed. For example, buildings assessed using Breeam are awarded credits according to their performance under the nine environmental impact categories, including materials, at the design stage and post-construction stage. In particular, building materials are evaluated in terms of their lifecycle impacts like embodied carbon dioxide, responsible sourcing and full product traceability (chain of custody).

The percentage of available credits achieved under each category is then multiplied by a corresponding weighting and the nine weighted scores are summed to give a single overall Breeam score. The building is then rated on a scale of ‘Unclassified’, ‘Pass’, ‘Good’, ‘Very Good’, ‘Excellent’ or ‘Outstanding’ according to a published scale.

Assessment process: The Cares assessment and certification process is open only to those firms in possession of a valid Cares product certification certificate and who will have:

• The technical ability and resources required to meet the requirements of the relevant sustainable reinforcing steel operational assessment schedule, including issues such as the product’s carbon footprint, raw material use and economic and social impacts;

• A quality management system to ISO 9001 and an environmental management system consistent with ISO 14001;

• A proven ability to satisfy the sustainability policy and objectives; and

• A commitment to the sustainability principles including continual improvement.

Following a successful assessment, a certificate of approval is granted, which describes the scope of approval. A number of reinforcing steel producers and processors have achieved certification against the scheme. Details of approvals are maintained in an updated form and appear on a list of approved firms kept on the Cares website (www.ukcares.com).

The industry sector approach adopted by the Cares-approved supply chain assures products made by approved companies are fully traceable (chain of custody), throughout the whole supply chain, from the molten steel to the finished structure. The Cares scheme takes into account specific environmental and social impacts and provides recognition for reinforcing steel producers and processors embracing genuine sustainability. The firm’s assured reinforcing steel supply chain meets the designers need for robust, reliable and trusted sources of environmental performance data.

Conclusion: Before using an ecolabel to inform a procurement decision, it is important that procurers check that they know what criteria the ecolabel requires and who awarded the ecolabel to that product, to check that it is truly impartial. Procurers also ought to check that the product meets their other sustainability requirements.

Reference

1. British Standards Institution, BS 8902, Responsible sourcing sector certification schemes for construction products Specification. BSI, London, 2009.

• The UK-based Cares is an independent, not-for-profit certification body established in 1983 to provide confidence to the users, purchasers and specifiers of constructional steels through a regime of regulation, testing and inspection.

• Cares supports Gulf green compliance
• Far East wins boost Zamil global profile
• B2B portal opens doors to steel world
• Rajhi Steel to launch new rolling mill
• Quality boost for Emirates Steel
• AceCad system helps improve cost efficiency

Tags

Regional News UAE Focus International Focus Events Diary of events Legally Bound Airport Construction Steel Interiors India & the Middle East Building Finishes Lifts & Escalators Just Out Tenders

Gulf Construction is the undisputed leading trade journal for the building and construction industries of Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states. The magazine provides editorial coverage on a wide range of topics which are of interest to industry professionals. In addition, regular features highlight technological developments within specific industry fields. Launched 40 years ago, the magazine has established an enviable reputation as an authoritative, respected journal with unmatched coverage of the Gulf region. Gulf Construction is essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in the region’s building and construction industry.