The goal of net zero road and rail networks increasingly shines the spotlight on the whole of the construction value chain. Procurement teams must now consider the impact of scope 3 emissions to keep moving towards the objective.
Offsite methods and Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) principles are proven ways to cut emissions – particularly the scope 1 emissions that are directly under your control. But what about the rest of the chain, including scope 3 emissions that you influence rather than control directly?
Scope 3 emissions include:
- Producing and transporting materials.
- Construction operations including equipment and machinery or energy used onsite.
- Moving operatives and equipment to and from the site.
- End-of-life demolition and disposal.
Solutions involving steel fabrication reduce onsite energy use and movements of materials and people to the site. Demolition and material recovery are also simplified.
For further reductions you need to examine emissions generated by production. These emissions become more significant in the overall sustainability equation.
FTE currently generates over 65% of the energy consumed annually by our production facilities using solar PV panels. In the summer months we achieve 100%.
Onsite generation not only cuts emissions, it also makes the carbon accounting process easier for our customers than it would be if we drew all our energy from the grid.
The Carbon Cost Of Rework
One factor that can seriously mess up carbon calculations is the need to rework steel structures. This happens when there are undetected clashes, not enough expert attention paid to detailing, or impractical designs.
There can be a huge financial cost to this. Variances of 50%+ are common. There’s also a harder-to -quantify carbon cost to rework, which makes accountability challenging.
FTE addresses this through an integrated design and delivery process we call intelligent integration. It involves applying fabrication and installation expertise from the start of the project. This avoids the clashes and complications that lead to reworking and project variances. It also brings the opportunity to design simpler solutions that need less material and processing.
One thing we haven’t discussed is the impact of material selection and where steel comes from. You can read about how steelmaking is moving to a net zero future, along with more about how FTE is decarbonising fabrication, by accessing our resource centre.
If you’d like to know more about decarbonising the steel fabrication value chain, contact: info@fourtees.co.uk
