InfraBuild’s journey to making sustainable steel

InfraBuild continues to strive for sustainability solutions that can offer better outcomes for its infrastructure and construction partners.

InfraBuild is committed to ensuring it is a responsible and sustainable supplier to Australia’s infrastructure projects. That was the message presented by David Bell, InfraBuild Construction Market Manager, at the 2019 #ISCACONNECT conference held in Melbourne.

David explained that a commitment to sustainability is one of InfraBuild’s core values and is manifested in several initiatives the company has taken in recent years. 

One of those initiatives has involved investigating how its products rate against the Material Circularity Indicator tool and how they can continue to be improved upon.

InfraBuild has also partnered with thinkstep to undertake a hotspot analysis of environmental indicators across all of its Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to understand how improvements in the company’s manufacturing processes and supply chain had altered those indicators.

One of the most exciting recent InfraBuild innovations is the development and launch of Viribar™, a patented high-strength steel ligature. 

The Viribar™ high-strength steel ligature offers a superior environmental outcome when compared to standard-grade steel ligatures, plus it is easier to install and delivers a more economical outcome to users. 

David told delegates that Viribar™ reduces both the mass and embodied energy of steel ligatures by 33 per cent, while still providing the same strength capacity of standard-grade ligatures. The new product will cost the same as a standard-grade ligature, but is lighter, easier to install and fully weldable. 

These recent initiatives come on top of InfraBuild’s broad and comprehensive engagement with industry to promote sustainability in infrastructure. InfraBuild was an early adopter of ISCA’s ISupply Programme by being one of the very first companies to be recognised in the ISupply Directory when it was launched in 2018. 

InfraBuild’s EPDs on its range of structural and reinforcing steel products can also be used by projects to earn IS rating tool points.

David Bell’s presentation ‘InfraBuild’s Journey to Making Sustainable Steel’ was delivered on Day 2 of the #ISCACONNECT Conference at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre in October 2019.