embodied carbon Archives

[vc_row width=”70″ background_image=””][vc_column][sapphire_textBlock]Aluminium has played a significant role in striving towards a more sustainable and innovative climate solution that is proven to be remarkably useful to construction industries and customers alike. Recycled material should not be underestimated when it comes to sustainability. As a highly durable metal, aluminium can come in different shapes, qualities and grades based on your requirements, thereby making it an incredibly versatile material to work with.

However, with industry attention often placed firmly on sustainable economies, how do recycled materials such as aluminium stack up?

Aluminium Extrusion

All forms of manipulating materials for light, heat, or movement require energy, often sourced from unsustainable fuels like oil, natural gas, or coal, resulting in harmful emissions. Sustainability has been a major focus over the last fifteen years, urging industries to shift away from fossil fuels and adopt greener energy sources like wind, solar, and hydropower to curb emissions. Aluminium extrusion, a process of refining aluminium shapes, has gained traction in product design and manufacturing by simplifying construction. With the ability to extrude aluminium into various strength grades and up to 70% recyclability, it demonstrates a strong strength-to-weight ratio. This process, combined with different aluminium grades, allows for customizable shapes and thicknesses of components, reducing carbon emissions impact by up to 44%.

ESG Explained

Given that many companies globally are adopting an ESG framework, it’s crucial to understand exactly why ESG is important from a sustainability perspective. ESG goes beyond simple carbon-cutting measures and incorporates environmental, social and governance strategies into a business at a fundamental level.

Recycled content contributes to the Environmental pillar of ESG. By reducing our amount of aluminium extrusion as a company, we can further reduce energy consumption and waste generation as a by-product of it.

The Social and Governance pillars also benefit from recycled content. By engaging in responsible sourcing and manufacturing, Sapphire has led the way in giving back to the community by reducing our overall carbon emissions through innovative product iterations and recycled materials in our balconies. Further to this, thanks to strong management, we can ensure transparency and effective implementation of our recycled materials to align with our sustainability objectives, leading up to the year 2030 and beyond.[/sapphire_textBlock][sapphire_contentLink order=”Image left / content right” image=”12959″ heading=”Sapphire’s Vision 2030″ button_text=”Explore our ESG strategy” button_link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Flocalhost%2Fbalconies%2Fvision2030%2F|title:Vision%202030|target:_blank”]Learn more about Sapphire’s sustainability efforts.[/sapphire_contentLink][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row width=”70″ background_image=””][vc_column][sapphire_textBlock]

How valuable is recycled material if you can’t prove it’s recycled?

Reaching Net Zero carbon emissions is an absolute for a company aiming for sustainable practices, but carbon credits and greenwashing aren’t the way to go about it. To strive for true sustainability, you need to prove that your material is actually recycled and provide a form of traceability to show the source of the material.

Attempting to find the source of all materials can be strenuous and so many companies opt to buy carbon credits in an attempt to offset their carbon emissions. However, this is not true sustainability as these credits simply ‘allow’ a company to avoid what they might see as an inconvenience. For true sustainability, either traced recycled materials must be used or other methods of reducing carbon emissions must be considered, such as reducing levels of transport, reducing the amount of material in your product or by making sure your waste products are recycled properly.

Shortages and Cost

Global demand for aluminium profiles and the means to extrude them has remained strong into late 2023. Considering the enduring influence of the coronavirus pandemic, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the continuing impact of Brexit, increased global demand is still an issue and has forced many countries to increase production, leading to scarcity of supply.[/sapphire_textBlock][sapphire_contentLink order=”Content left / image right” image=”11780″ heading=”White City M&S – Case Study” button_text=”Read the case study” button_link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Flocalhost%2Fbalconies%2Fcase-studies%2Fwhite-city-ms-phase-1-w12%2F|title:Read%20the%20case%20study|target:_blank”]See how White City fares from an environmental perspective.[/sapphire_contentLink][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row width=”70″ background_image=””][vc_column][sapphire_textBlock]

The Limitations of Recycled Material

Limiting your opportunities by focusing too heavily on achieving a highly recycled material can be a hurdle for many buyers of extruded aluminium. The importance of recycled content should lie in the weight of CO₂ per item, not the percentage of recycled content in the materials themselves. Reducing the total emissions in a product is far more sustainable than increasing the percentage of recycled content used, as the less embodied carbon used by weight will directly impact how sustainable a product can be.

There are no hard and fast rules on what you should or should not do when it comes to the materials you use, but by staying informed on the role of recycled material, we can all make more informed and more viable choices. Adopting a well-thought-through ESG strategy can make a great difference to your approach to sustainability and Sapphire are proud to have published their ESG strategy earlier this year, available at /vision2030/.[/sapphire_textBlock][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row width=”70″ background_image=””][vc_column][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tJTJGZW1iZWQlMkZmZWVkJTJGdXBkYXRlJTJGdXJuJTNBbGklM0F1Z2NQb3N0JTNBNzExMDY0NjQzNzY5MTk2OTUzNiUyMiUyMGhlaWdodCUzRCUyMjEwMTIlMjIlMjB3aWR0aCUzRCUyMjUwNCUyMiUyMGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyJTNEJTIyMCUyMiUyMGFsbG93ZnVsbHNjcmVlbiUzRCUyMiUyMiUyMHRpdGxlJTNEJTIyRW1iZWRkZWQlMjBwb3N0JTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row width=”70″ background_image=”” el_id=”” el_class=”” css=””][vc_column][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]

With carbon as such a hot topic and at the front of our minds so often, it is important to consider the impact of embodied carbon in all forms of construction. This is no different when designing, manufacturing, and installing balconies. It is now mandatory in many countries to build properties as ‘net zero ready’ by 2030. With this date now rapidly approaching and with a global focus on achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, reducing the embodied carbon in construction is a method of working towards that goal.

What is embodied carbon and where is it found?

Embodied carbon refers to the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions produced in the fabrication of materials and eventual construction during the lifecycle of a building or type of infrastructure.

Fabrication of building materials can create CO₂ emissions. Legacy materials such as concrete may become significant contributors to carbon emissions. Whilst generally the materials making up the frame and structure of a building are the primary contributor, the transport of those materials to the site on which they are being installed can also be a contributing factor.

Embodied carbon is the carbon footprint of a project, building or piece of infrastructure before it becomes operational. It refers to the history of carbon emissions. It can also refer to any carbon emissions produced up until the handover of the building such as burning fuel on a commute, cooking a meal in the office, or even powering a laptop used to communicate amongst the project staff.

How can you save on embodied carbon?

There are various ways to reduce the embodied carbon in construction. By tackling the amount of embodied carbon in a project at the design phase, projects can be greener and save drastically on the carbon emitted in the process.

During the fabrication of construction materials, it is possible to limit the carbon intensity of materials used. For materials with high carbon footprints such as aluminium, careful use is key, but not perilous. Aluminium has a high volume of embodied CO₂ per tonne, but the relatively small weight used per balcony means that emissions can be kept to a very low level. As such, it is reasonable to use any material in a design, but when using it, it may be pertinent to keep the volume of it used to a minimum.

Though recycled materials can be difficult to obtain and may not offer guaranteed structural performance, it is advisable from an emissions perspective to recycle and reuse materials. This cuts down on the energy used on virgin/raw material and so reduces embodied carbon in a final product drastically. Reclaimed material, or even content with highly recycled value, is very important in metals. By reusing materials, it is possible to cut down embodied carbon by up to four times.

Aluminium balconies vs Concrete balconies

The qualities of aluminium and concrete balconies can differ greatly, and each has its situational benefit. But when considering embodied carbon, aluminium balconies have an advantage.

Aluminium balconies can be manufactured to be lightweight – approximately 30% the weight of a concrete alternative – and therefore provide a reduced number of brackets connected back to the façade of the building. This, in turn, reduces the carbon emissions in extra construction, in extra materials used for fabrication and reduces the risk of cold bridging – meaning excess operational carbon is avoided from the outset.

Further to this, Sapphire’s Glide-On™ Cassette® system increases the speed of installation, cutting down on transport, working and crane hours. Each of these contains some embodied carbon to a degree – the emissions from the combustion engine of a car or van, or emissions from running a crane for an extended period of days – the Glide-On™ Cassette® system can only be used with an aluminium frame due to its light yet rigid nature, reducing emissions from the outset.

Making science-based choices to positively impact your embodied carbon

Understanding the principles of embodied carbon is crucial. Simply put, the less material used, the less embodied carbon. In many cases, this can also lead to less operation carbon as an added benefit. To assist you, we offer:

Product EPDs for your balcony, for a scientific study of many of your scenarios.
An easy-to-digest whitepaper on carbon in balconies.
An initial design consultation at no extra cost to look at reducing carbon in your project whilst making sure interfaces, efficiency and cost are optimised.

Embodied carbon is something to be considered heavily in the manufacture and installation of balconies. By reducing the embodied carbon in the product and materials used, the UK will have a stronger chance of fighting climate change and tackling hurdles toward the net zero carbon emission goal in 2050.

Tag: embodied carbon

Recycled Material & Sustainability