Dive Brief:

• The Steel Recycling Institute (SRI) of Pittsburgh, has released an industrywide Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for cold-formed steel studs and track made in the U.S. and Canada, which quantifies these materials’ environmental impacts through their life cycle. Designers will be able to leverage the EPD to work toward achieving a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and to rank in other green building rating programs, as reported in Recycling Today.
• Environmental effects of steel reuse, recovery, and recycling are reported in a separate module in the EPD, enabling users to factor in their own end-of-life considerations.
• The SRI promotes recycling of steel products, and is a division of the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), which falls under the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). AISI advocates for policy for the North American steel industry and is instrumental in developing new steels and steelmaking technology.

Dive Insight:

"Environmental impacts of materials are critical decision factors for architects, engineers, and builders," said Lawrence W. Kavanagh, president of SMDI, as reported in Recycling Today. "With the construction industry moving to comprehensive assessments of a product’s entire life cycle, it’s important this EPD is now being added to the resources we and our partners have developed for our customers in the construction industry."

The Construction Waste Management Market 2015-2019 global report says the market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.67% from 2014 to 2019. And industry stakeholders have their work cut out for them as a booming construction industry churns out tons of what will eventually become waste, which is one reason that the industry is paying close attention to green design and construction practices to reduce waste through a building’s life cycle. The EPD will serve as a tool to help achieve this goal.