27 Sustainability defined


With increasing pressure to specify building systems offering clearly defined sustainability, Andrew Cross of Kestrel Aluminium Systems gives his thoughts on the use of aluminium as a key building component


The Birmingham Modpod I


n construction terms, aluminium is considered to be a ‘permanent’ material as, unlike some other metals, it loses none of its inherent properties as a consequence of repeated recycling. The World Green Building Council has set a target to make all buildings ‘zero carbon’ by 2050 so, with demands to reduce carbon emissions and the environmental impact of production processes, use of materials which embody recycling as an inherent feature are becoming increasingly significant.


ADF DECEMBER 2020


Aluminium is now used across a wide range of sectors and, as a matter of interest, is still very much the most valuable item in our recycling collection. From an emissions perspective, use of pre and post-use aluminium greatly reduces energy consumption and adds tangible value to the economics of production. To put this into perspective, it saves around 95 per cent of the energy consumed in the ‘primary’ production process.


For those specifying metal window and door systems there is, therefore, a clear


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