Severfield’s Supports Circular Economy and Decarbonisation by Reclaiming Steel

Steel is essential to modern construction, from stadiums and data centres to commercial buildings. As one of the most widely used materials, steel products have significant differences in the embodied carbon they carry, depending on the way they are produced.

Steel made using the Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) process has an embodied carbon figure of around 2.45 tCO₂e (tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) per tonne, while Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) production can reduce this to 0.56 – 0.33 tCO₂e.

Reclaiming steel for even greater carbon savings

Although steel is commonly recycled at the end of its life, even greater benefits can be achieved through reclaiming and reusing steel in its present state. By not smelting it back down to liquid steel, it can save up to 96% of embodied carbon compared to new steel!

As part of our decarbonisation strategy, Severfield has developed a dedicated approach to how we can utilise reclaimed steel in our projects.

Reclaimed’ steel means repurposing pre-used steel into primary and secondary steelwork, and it carries benefits of lower embodied carbon and supports circular economy principles on our projects. In our case, the pre-used steel that we are reclaiming is the steel that we have used for temporary stability whilst constructing.

This involves taking steel from temporary stability works used during construction, transporting it back to our facilities, cleaning it, and re-fabricating it for installation in new structures.

Steel from iconic projects

Working with our project teams we have recovered steel from various projects which has resulted in a suitable stockpile of reclaimed steel ready for reuse in future builds.

John Florence, Head of Group Procurement at Severfield, said, “Severfield clearly understands the part it plays in the construction industry to share awareness and positively influence the decarbonisation of steel products in the most sustainable way, and by re-using steel previously constructed is only one of the initiatives currently being employed. Severfield endeavours to work with trade associations, institutions and clients to constantly seek out more sustainable ways to construct.” 

Proven environmental benefits

To ensure transparency and client confidence, our reclaimed steel is backed by a third-party verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). This provides a detailed breakdown of its environmental impact.

Even after cleaning and re-fabrication, our reclaimed steel has an embodied carbon of just 0.094 tCO₂e per tonne, a 96% reduction compared to traditional BOF steel.

Supporting a circular construction industry

By embedding reclaimed steel into our projects, we are reducing emissions, conserving resources, and supporting the shift towards a circular economy, without compromising on quality or performance.

For more information on our sustainability initiatives, please contact sustainability@severfield.com. You can view the EPD at the EPD Hub library under the number HUB-1790.