Aluminium’s High Performance
Chief Executive’s comments – Justin Ratcliffe
Recent analysis by the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Low Carbon Economy Index shows that in Britain last year greenhouse gas emissions increased by 3.5%, more than double the 1.3% growth in the economy.
It means that for the first year since 2000, there has been no improvement in reducing ‘carbon intensity’ – the greenhouse gases emitted for each unit of economic output. PwC stated that the economic recovery, where it had occurred, had been a dirty one. However, such figures overshadow continuous improvements made by the materials sector including aluminium across a number of areas of sustainability and not just carbon reduction.
Robin Nicholson of Edward Cullinan Architects talking about sustainable design and construction in London recently, focused on the importance of measuring and publishing information on projects. This is equally important for the materials sector which has been highlighted in the various Defra Roadmaps including the Windows Sustainability Action Plan. CAB is actively involved in the follow up to this which is the Windows Sustainability Partnership (WSP) and which will report on the latest results and commitments made by the materials sectors.
In the case on aluminium, the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) has recently reported the latest 2010 figures of energy used in the raw material production. In 2010 there was a 9% reduction in energy use per tonne of alumina compared to 2006 and there was a 10% reduction in the AC electrical energy globally between 1990 and 2010. A new objective has now been set to reduce smelter electrical energy per tonne of aluminium by 5% between 2006 and 2020.
End of life impacts are very important too and latest results show that the recycling message is getting even stronger with 10 million tonnes of aluminium recovered in 2010, an increase on 2008. The aluminium can recycling rate reached 70% and the target now is to reach 75% by 2015.
Other key issues for aluminium include material service life. CAB is in the midst of a project to highlight the fact that our material lasts well beyond the 40 years it is credited with in the BRE Green Guide. One of the best examples is the 200 aluminium windows being refurbished at the Bodleian library in Oxford. Installed in 1937 the aluminium with its anodic coating is still in very good condition and still has a very useful lifespan which could easily exceed 100 years.
For further information on CAB or its work on aluminium and sustainability, please contact Justin Ratcliffe on 01453 82 88 51 or email justin.ratcliffe@c-a-b.org.uk
