Steel fabricators and producers in the UK have been reducing their carbon output for decades in order to stay lean and efficient. This has been primarily through the adoption of more sustainable business practices, including an increase in scrap contents used within the basic oxygen furnace (BOF), meaning that the amount of carbon generated during steel production has naturally declined.

At the same time, clients have been adopting innovative strategies to reduce the operational energy of their buildings. Reports including the 2018 UKGBC’s Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap suggest that 71% of the UK built environment’s carbon footprint comes from operational emissions. Since then, it has also become clear that similar efforts are required to reduce the embodied carbon associated with developments – and this has become the prevailing trend.

However, this focus on carbon at a project level does not always capture the nuances of global carbon reduction strategies and is placing significant pressure on UK steel suppliers as they transition to greener production methods.