UK’s Leading Sheet Pile Specialist Calls for Embedded Carbon Reduction

Britain’s leading sheet piling installation specialist, project designer and sheet pile supplier,  Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd, is calling on the UK construction industry to make 2024 a year in which it commits to reduce the amount of embedded carbon in its construction and refurbishment projects.

Sheet Piling UK highlights how it has helped reduce embedded – or embodied - carbon on a wide variety of projects during 2023, enabling contractors to achieve a lighter carbon footprint through the sheet pile solutions and schemes it has devised.  

In each case, the project’s focus on reducing embedded carbon has been wholly voluntary.  For real progress to be made towards net zero objectives, Sheet Piling UK believes more developers and contractors need to follow suit and adopt the same approach.

Both operational and embedded carbon are the concern of UKGBC, whose work focuses on reducing carbon emissions in both residential or commercial developments.  UKGBC is applying pressure to make the reporting of embedded carbon mandatory and says minimum standards are needed, to accelerate action on embedded carbon.

Notably, UKGBC also says decisions made in the early stages of a construction project, regarding materials selection or whether a building can be retrofitted, often have a significant implication on the amount of embedded carbon. 

Sheet Piling UK concurs.  Its major achievements in helping contractors reduce embedded carbon within projects have come when there has been early stage involvement.  This has allowed both its pre-construction and in-house design teams to offer alternative viewpoints and designs, focused on carbon reduction.  Sheet Piling UK would like to see such early stage discussions about carbon being mainstream practice within the construction sector.

Embedded carbon from the construction and refurbishment of buildings currently contributes 20% - a fifth – of all UK built environment emissions. The built environment has a crucial role within the mitigation of the climate crisis but action has to be stepped up.  The commitment is to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 (compared to 1990s levels) and achieve net zero by 2050.

By 2030, the World Green Building Council would like to see all new building, infrastructure and renovation projects using at least 40% less embedded carbon and achieving net zero embedded carbon targets by 2050.  With the world’s population expected to rise to 10 billion by mid-century and the global building stock doubling in size, it says upfront carbon will comprise half of the entire carbon footprint of new construction between now and 2050.

Embedded carbon is associated with materials and construction processes throughout the whole lifecycle of a building or piece of infrastructure.  Upfront embedded carbon comprises emissions emanating from materials within the manufacturing and construction phase, before a building or infrastructure development is put into use.  Thereafter, there is ‘in use’ embedded carbon, from emissions from materials or processes needed to maintain or refurbish the building or infrastructure.  End-of-life embedded carbon is that which results from deconstruction, demolition and disposal of materials.

Sheet Piling UK is urging developers and contractors to focus on all three elements of embedded carbon, by choosing a material, in steel, which can positively influence carbon emissions across the embedded carbon spectrum.

This is because steel is naturally a more carbon-friendly material.  It has a lifespan of up to 125 years, so every metric ton manufactured helps maximise the value of the resources going into it.

Steel sheet piles also offer the advantage of being reusable and used within projects several times over, before coming to the end of their life.  At that point, they can then be fully recycled and put back into the circular economy.

Early involvement, on the part of Sheet Piling UK’s experts, can assist in suggesting how sheet pile reusability can best assist a project.  Opting for used sheet piles within a project can be one instant way of reducing the embedded carbon.  Sheet Piling UK’s civil and geotechnical engineers, who have 60 years combined design experience, can suggest where the use of used sheet piles would be appropriate. 

However, where temporary steel sheet pile structures are required within a construction brief, embedded carbon can be cut even more, if a staggered approach to installation can be achieved.  Extracting and reinstalling sheet piles within the same site is an extremely efficient way of reducing embedded carbon.

Another way of reducing the carbon footprint of the project is to use sheet piles from Sheet Pile UK’s huge UK-based stockholding of steel sheet piles.  This is held at a level of 15000 Te for new steel sheet piles and 5000Te of used piles. 

Since October 2023, contractor and developers have been truthfully able to claim to be using the very greenest steel sheet piles in the industry within a project, if buying from Sheet Piling UK.  The company is the exclusive UK and Ireland steel piling partner of Emirates Steel Arkan (ESA), which has been shown to manufacture the greenest steel sheet piles available to the construction industry.  Sheet Piling UK clients can access a 40% reduction in carbon, simply by using Emirates Steel Arkan sheet piles.

The Abu Dhabi-based manufacturer’s ultra-low emission Green Steel sheet piles have been verified as generating just 350kg of CO2 per tonne produced - 40% less carbon than that generated by the processes of other manufacturers.  The norm for carbon generation within primary steel production within the global steel industry is 1910kg of CO2 per tonne. 

Emirate Steel Arkan’s figures were produced by an Engie Impact Benchmarking Study and the cradle-to-gate life cycle analysis was also rigorously reviewed and endorsed by an independent carbon auditor.  All was carried out in accordance with ISO 14025 and EN 15804 standards.

This super-green, sustainable steel is produced through an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) production process, using ‘clean’ electricity, which now powers 80% of production.  The manufacturer also operates an advanced carbon capture process, in partnership with the Reyadah Carbon Capture, Utility and Storage Facility.  This captures up to 800,000 tons of CO2 – the equivalent of emissions from 170,000 cars.

Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd’s managing director, Andrew Cotton, says, “We would urge contractors, developers, architects and clients commissioning projects to make it their New Year resolution to consider embedded carbon and actively take steps to reduce this within their project. Unless the industry quickens its pace on carbon reduction, targets will not be met and we will be unable to combat climate change.

“Our ISO 9001 accredited design team, work to UK and Eurocode design standards and have actually been involved in shaping some of those standards.  They can suggest turnkey solutions that build embedded carbon considerations in from a very early stage, as well as delivering an optimal sheet pile solution for any brief.”

Dialogue about this topic is essential, if the construction sector is to meet its net zero objectives.  To start that conversation in 2024, please call the Sheet Piling UK team on 01772 794141.  More information is a www.sheetpilinguk.com                                             

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Editors notes

Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd is the UK's leading national sheet piling contractor and sheet pile installation specialist, with over 25 years' experience of handling a wide variety of land and marine-based projects. It supplies both permanent and temporary sheet pile solutions and has a fleet of cutting-edge equipment, including its unique and specially commissioned long-reach telescopic leader rigs, which have a reach 3m further than any other rig.