Guidelines. Sustainability of steel sheet piles

Ensuring the Sustainability of Steel Sheet Piles

Environmental Product Declarations and Life Cycle Assessments

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): 

LCA analyzes a product's environmental impact throughout its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to reuse or recycling. 

Environmental Product Declaration (EPD): 

An EPD documents environmental impacts based on an LCA, enabling transparent communication by manufacturers. ArcelorMittal’s EPDs are independently verified. 

ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling EPDs: 

  • EcoSheetPilee™ Plus: 100% steel scrap, 100% renewable electricity. 
  • EcoSheetPilee™: 100% steel scrap. 
  • Cold-formed sheet piles: 11% steel scrap. 
  • Hot-rolled sheet piles: 15% steel scrap (pending). 

Production Routes: 

The secondary production route (electric arc furnace) uses steel scrap and is more environmentally friendly than the primary route (blast furnace). EcoSheetPilee™ products use European steel scrap, reducing emissions and conserving resources. Renewable electricity cuts emissions by 30%. GWP Comparison: The chart shows the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of different production routes based on EPDs.

Global Warming Potential

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Incorporating Environmental Criteria

Infrastructure projects should adopt a holistic approach to sustainability, covering economic, social, and environmental pillars. Unfortunately, the environmental aspect is often overlooked, despite construction materials contributing 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Including environmental criteria in public tenders helps contractors provide sustainable, low-carbon solutions. 

The Dutch Monetization Method: 1150

In the Netherlands, environmental impacts are quantified using Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) or generic data, creating an Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI) for each product. The ECI is converted to a financial credit that is subtracted from the bid price, incentivizing sustainability. This approach ensures the contract goes to the most economically advantageous offer, not necessarily the lowest bid, encouraging investment in R&D to reduce environmental impacts.

Steel Sheet Piles and the Circular Economy

Steel, the world's most recycled material, benefits from properties like magnetism, making separation easy. ArcelorMittal steel sheet piles excel in these circular economy principles: 

  • Reduce: Optimized engineering has made profiles up to 50% lighter over the past decades without compromising quality. New profiles like AZ-800 and high-yield-strength steel grades contribute to this efficiency. 
  • Reuse: Sheet piles used in temporary projects can be extracted and reused up to ten times, minimizing environmental impact. 
  • Recycle: Unlike other construction materials, sheet piles can be removed and recycled in an electric furnace, with steel retaining its quality through repeated recycling.