This report presents the methodology to declare environmental benefits of reused elements in the scope of RFCS project ADVANCE “Accompanying measure for dissemination, valorisation and collaborative exploitation of circularity of constructional steel products”. Our goal is to clarify the calculation method used for Environmental Product Declarations according to EN 15804 + A2 and to analyse alternative metrics for the assessment of circularity of constructional steel products.
The European steel sector has played an important role in the development of LCA assessment methods and standards over many years. Life Cycle Inventory data published by steel industry is based on production of steel from iron ore and steel scrap. This inventory covers material mining and manufacture but also benefits and loads of recycling steel from products at the end of their life. Deconstruction and reuse offer alternative circular path to this well-established recycling process and in the case of steel, it will be always assessed together with scrap recycling, because almost all the material not suitable for reuse can be recycled. Several studies shown that a design approach featuring reused steel allows for considerable savings in energy and carbon reduction with respect to a new one.
In this report we describe a simple methodology to account reuse, in addition to recycling, in LCA calculations for constructional steel. The method is an extension of the Wordsteel Association’s methodology, and it is compatible with the CEN/TC 350 standards and PEF Circular Footprint Formula. We demonstrate this methodology in several calculation examples, where the different choices of recycling, reusing and disposal are selected. The method is suitable for individual projects such as buildings specifically designed to be reused. However, it can also highlight the benefits of product categories with substantial rate of reuse, for instance in the Environmental Product Declarations.
The report will cover the following issues:
• Lifecycle assessment methodology according to CEN/TC350 and CEN/TC135 standards for constructional steel products.
• Overview of possible circularity metrics to quantify the benefits of steel reuse.
This report presents the results of the ADVANCE project, a RFCS Accompanying Measure that aims to develop and demonstrate circular economy solutions for steel and steel-based components in the construction sector. The project covers different aspects of reuse, such as design, testing, certification, business models, and sustainability assessment, and provides recommendations and best practices for policy makers, industry stakeholders, and researchers.
The report reviews the existing standards, guides, and technical specifications for the assessment and design of reused steel components and identifies the main barriers and challenges. It also showcases some innovative solutions and case studies of reusable steel and steel-based structures and dismountable connectors, and evaluates the environmental, economic, and social impacts of reuse and recycling of steel components using different methods and tools. Finally, the report analyses the existing and upcoming policies and regulations at the European and national levels that affect the circular economy of steel-based components and provides policy recommendations and proposals for new standards and guidelines to support the reuse and recycling of steel components.
Annex A of the report presents glossary of terms and definitions used in this report and in the ADVANCE project in general. Factsheets of the newly developed Case Studies of structural steel reuse are presented in Annex B.
This document summarises the presentation developed in the Work Package 5 of the ADVANCE project to be used in the workshops organized by the project partners in the Work Package 6.
The presentation is translated into Czech, Finnish, French, German, Portuguese and Romanian.
Each individual presentation is also available here.