Steel Building Agreement: collective starting point for more sustainable steel in construction and infrastructure

Trade association for discontinuous hot-dip galvanizing is closely involved in initiative

With the aim of achieving further sustainability of steel in construction and infrastructure, the Dutch steel construction industry has firmly joined forces. The result of joining forces is the Steel Building Agreement, the covenant for the entire steel construction chain of which was signed and published by all parties involved last March. One of the co-signatories is Zinkinfo Benelux, which, as the trade association for discontinuous hot-dip galvanizing, will also be involved in the further rollout of the agreement.   

The challenge for the international community to keep the earth livable for now and tomorrow is great, far-reaching and complex at the same time. Global warming, the intensive consumption of primary raw materials and resources and the decline in biodiversity: the continuous degradation of the environment of humans, plants and animals must be stopped at all costs. To achieve this, not only have pebble-shaped goals been formulated at global, European and national levels, but also various policy plans have been made and a varied package of measures is on the table. In line with the international Paris Agreement, for example, the Netherlands has its own national Climate Accord. Fit for 55, the policy program to result in 55% less CO2 emissions by 2030 than in 1990, was initiated by the European Union. In addition, the EU recently introduced the Circular Economy Action Plan, which is being built on in our country with the government-wide program Nederland Circulair 2050. Both plans are broadly aimed at a substantial reduction in the consumption of primary raw materials in all economic sectors. For the year 2030, the goal is a reduction of 50%; by 2050 that percentage should reach the full 100.

Coalition

To reduce the environmental impact of the production and use of materials and products within buildings and structures, the Dutch construction and civil engineering sector also has a lot of work to do. Precisely in order to achieve further sustainability of steel in the construction industry, the players within the steel sector have, on the initiative of the national knowledge and network institute Building with Steel, concluded a coalition agreement focused on sustainability. It is an industry-wide initiative: from commissioning and design to production, execution, dismantling and recycling. The collective's vision, mission, ambitions and strategy regarding a further reduction in raw material and energy consumption, emissions, nuisance and waste as a result of building with steel by 2030 and beyond are set out in the Building with Steel Agreement (BAS). Within this covenant, which was signed and published by all stakeholders on March 10 of this year, roadmaps, action perspectives and other tools will continue to be developed until 2024, with the intended result of effectively translating the sustainability-oriented ambitions into practice. 

Build up and scale up 

Around the creation and implementation of the Steel Building Accord, several leading construction and infrastructure companies and organizations are involved that have steel sustainability as a high priority. These so-called front-runners come from all sectoral divisions and form the BAS working group under the leadership of Jacqueline Cramer. Through this knowledge cluster, in which the sharing of knowledge, experiences, insights and ideas is central, the route to a more sustainable application of steel in the construction and infrastructure sector is mapped out. That route, the actual practical implementation of the Steel Building Agreement, is divided into a build-up phase and a scaling-up phase. During the build-up phase, the necessary preparations will be made until December 2022 to ensure that the stated ambitions and agreements in the agreement are optimally incorporated into the entire steel construction chain. Possible themes here include the reduction of CO2 emissions, circular design and construction through reuse, and emission-free transport and assembly. Once the construction stage is complete, the scale-up phase will start early next year. This will continue at least until 2030, the first target year. During this scale-up phase, several implementation teams will come into action to develop the necessary roadmaps for each theme. In addition, securing the agreements made with all stakeholders is on the program and, if necessary, new procurement procedures will be developed that link to the goals and agreements in the Steel Building Accord.

Active participant

One of the parties that has co-signed the Steel Construction Agreement is Zinkinfo Benelux, based in Breda. In addition to signing on to the Steel Building Accord, the industry association for discontinuous hot-dip galvanizing will also collectively participate as an industry in the working groups that have been put together as a result of the agreement. "The hot-dip galvanizers are keen to do their bit to achieve the objectives set out in the Steel Building Accord," says Hans Boender, technical expert within Zinkinfo Benelux. "After all, there is a lot to gain. The added value of galvanized steel in terms of circularity is well known by now, but much more and better efforts can be made to reuse galvanized steel structures and structural components. For example, through smarter and more efficient design. Furthermore, the thermal galvanizers in the Netherlands will be investing heavily in energy transition in the coming years so that the Fit for 55 targets for CO2 reduction can be met. In short, there is much to come both in the short and longer term."

Source: Steel Building Accord. For more information, visit www.bouwakkoordstaal.nl

A unique process

Zinkinfo Benelux wants to make discontinuous hot-dip galvanizing generally recognized by stakeholders of today and tomorrow as the most effective and sustainable form of corrosion prevention for steel.

Hot-dip galvanizing is a unique process and has been the "World Champion in Corrosion Prevention" for over 150 years. No other method even comes close to this most complete protection of steel. Moreover, it is the smartest and most responsible choice.