Sustainability in Structural Steel Construction

Responsibility by Design

Sustainability is an essential benchmark for modern construction.

Sustainability is no longer a trend—it has become an indispensable benchmark for modern construction. As a pioneer in the steel construction industry, Unger Steel embraces this responsibility with a comprehensive strategy focused on ecological efficiency and resource conservation. We rely on transparent Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), low-CO₂ raw materials, and circular design principles.

Our implemented measures range from EPDs for rolled profiles and plate structures to value engineering aimed at reducing steel mass, as well as innovative processes such as Green Zinc coating and the use of water-based coatings for DGNB/ÖGNI-certified building projects.

With a vision of a climate-friendly industry, we advance boldly—technologically, economically, and with a clear commitment to sustainability throughout the entire lifecycle of our products.

Sustainability in Detail

EPDs for Unger Steel Constructions

Why EPDs?

If you want to be a pioneer in terms of sustainability, you must also focus on complete transparency – throughout the entire product life cycle. We lead the way and use EPDs verified by the relevant testing bodies to ensure a good data basis for the ecological assessment of steel as a material.

Annex to the EPD Unger rolled section construction ‘Unger Steel²Zero’:
This declaration refers to 1 tonne of Steel²Zero rolled profile construction and covers constructions made from steel profiles produced using the EAF process from 100% scrap and green electricity.

You can also find our EPDs in the product database of the DGNB Navigator:

Unger rolled profile constructions

Unger heavy plates constructions

Steel²Zero rolled profile constructions (Mass Balance Product Information)
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4R - Circular Economy - The path to sustainability

What is the cycle of steel?

  • Steel is infinitely and completely recyclable, in most cases without any loss of quality.
  • 85-95 % of old steel at the end of its service life is currently recycled into new steel products and accounts for over 20 % of today’s steel production.
  • However, end-of-life steel is just the beginning of green steel – recycled and renewably produced from up to 100 % scrap steel.
Infografik: 600 Millionen Tonnen Stahl werden weltweit recycelt, viel mehr als andere Stoffe.
CO2-reduced steel - a Gamechanger for the future

We had the honour of welcoming a delegation from the Vienna Technical Museum to our company to discuss one of the most pressing issues of our time:
Sustainability in the steel industry

‘Our vision is clear – through innovative technologies and targeted measures, we want to drastically reduce our carbon footprint and show that economic success and ecological responsibility can go hand in hand,’ emphasises Bernd Mühl, Head of Division Steel.

A big thank you to the Vienna Technical Museum for the exciting dialogue. Together we are taking steps towards a more climate-friendly industry and have started with us!


Link zum Video

Comparison of building materials in the life cycle assessment

In the context of the circular economy, the end-of-life balance of building product is important because although buildings are generally long-lasting products, they consume significant material resources and if we do not keep these resources in use through reuse or genuine recycling, the circular economy is lost.

Building materials differ considerably in their service life balance; this depends on both the material properties and the resulting designs.

Infografik: Vergleich der Baustoffe im End-of-Life-Szenario, Stahl wird zu 93% recycelt.
RE-DUCE: CO2 reduction in raw materials and construction

Value Engineering

Value engineering makes it possible to reduce steel masses through higher steel grades.

 

CO2-reduced steel

At Unger, we offer the processing of CO2-reduced steel. This makes it possible to reduce the CO2 footprint by up to approx. 70 % using only the raw material.

Rolled profiles

herkömmlicher Stahl:



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– reduzierter Stahl:



SALCOS© – Annex Download



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Heavy plates

conventional heavy plates:



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– reduced heavy plates:



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CO2 reduced trapezoidal sheet and sandwich panel

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CO2 reduced coating and hot-dip galvanizing
  • Water-soluble paints reduce CO2 emissions due to a lower VOC content
  • Application specifically for DGNB/ÖGNI-certified construction sites
  • With Green-Zinc: 75 % less CO2 emissions
  • CO2 footprint of less than 1 kg CO2 per kilogram of zinc
  • In comparison, conventionally produced zinc produces around 4 kg CO2 per kilogram of zinc. (Source: Deutsches Umweltbundesamt)
Comparison of building materials

A lot of mass („weight“) causes a lot of CO2

 

A lot of mass („weight“) causes a lot of CO2