InfraBuild: New Name, Same Commitment to Sustainability

6th Oct 2020

This month InfraBuild (formerly OneSteel) published revalidated and rebranded EPDs and included Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) metrics in recognition of the growing focus on the Circular Economy.

We spoke to InfraBuild’s Construction Market Manager, David Bell about the value of EPDs and how they are continuing to help InfraBuild to meet their sustainability objectives.

You originally published a range of EPDs back in November 2016.  What prompted InfraBuild (then OneSteel) to invest in EPDs in those early days?

The Australian construction and infrastructure market was demanding transparent & independently verified sustainability data.  GBCA Green Star and ISCA IS tools were increasingly recognising EPDs as a trustworthy and credible source of information.

We recognised EPDs as a “single source of the truth” to answer a multitude of questions in a single document and took the opportunity to develop our own suite of EPDs.

Over the last 3-4 years, how has InfraBuild used the EPDs – for marketing, internal benchmarking or other ways?

EPDs have been an enabler for us to have early engagement with project proponents to help them gain the Green Star or IS credits that are available through the use of verified EPDs.

We have promoted the EPDs through numerous seminars, conferences and webinars and other interactions, as well as through direct project engagement with key stakeholders, including asset owners, sustainability professionals, procurements experts, specifiers, contractors and government agencies.

Our EPDs have also been a source of differentiation in the market. Key stakeholders have sought our involvement with their projects, because EPDs are included in our suite of sustainability solutions.

You have recently rebranded from OneSteel to InfraBuild and updated all of your EPDs.  Was the EPD update purely related to rebadging under the company’s new name, or were there other criteria for the update?

Given we first launched our EPDs in late 2016 in our previous guise as OneSteel, it was fortuitous timing that the need to both update the branding and the revalidation of the data in the EPDs aligned nicely.

This update afforded us the opportunity to provide the market with up-to-date sustainability data that can be utilised for the next 5 years.

Recognising the increasing focus on the Circular Economy as a key aspect of sustainability, we also took the opportunity to develop Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) metrics for all the products covered by the EPDs.  This provides sustainability professionals with additional information as well as allowing us to benchmark our own processes as we evolve to an even more circular manufacturing model.

How do EPDs fit into InfraBuild’s overall environmental strategy and how do you envisage the organisation will use EPDs in the future?

As part of the GFG Alliance, InfraBuild is committed to creating a more sustainable future for industry and society. InfraBuild’s continued development of innovative practices is underpinned by GFG Alliance’s GREENSTEEL strategy which promotes greater use of recycled materials, increased use of renewable energy and operation of facilities close to key markets.

GFG Alliance has established the CN30 programme, which builds on the GREENSTEEL strategies, with the ambition to become the first carbon neutral industrial group in the world by 2030. The programme involves implementing investments in new infrastructure, renewable energy, and new technologies.  InfraBuild is proud to be part of the GFG Alliance’s work towards building a secure and sustainable long-term future for the domestic steel industry, local manufacturing, and communities.

We strive to improve our social license to operate across social, economic, and environmental arenas while upholding our core values of Change, Family and Sustainability. Sustainability is one of the three Core Values of InfraBuild and as such, we believe in the value of EPDs providing transparent and verified sustainability information to the market.

InfraBuild’s Suite of EPDs

• Reinforcing Bar and Mesh
• Hot Rolled Structural Products
• Reinforcing Rod, Bar & Wire
• Hot Rolled Structural and Merchant Bar
• Hot Rolled Structural and Rail (Liberty Primary Steel)
• Steel Reinforcing Bar and Mesh (Australian Reinforcing Company)