Design Solution · Materials Science
Design Solution · Dream about it
Specify ~75% post-consumer recycled aluminium in facade framing.
Facade solutions specify around 75% post-consumer recycled aluminium content, with low-carbon alternatives from environmentally responsible producers preferred. Recycled aluminium carries a fraction of the embodied carbon of primary aluminium, helping meet BREEAM and WELL targets.
Specifying approximately 75% post-consumer recycled aluminium content in facade framing targets one of the largest embodied-carbon line items in a commercial facade — primary aluminium production is one of the most carbon-intensive manufacturing processes, and recycled content can reduce the carbon factor by roughly 95% compared with virgin primary metal. The principle is sound and the technology is mature: recycled aluminium alloys are fully capable of meeting EN 755 or equivalent structural and finish specifications for curtain-wall extrusions. This record is at claimed status with no verified evidence, but the technical and commercial basis is well-established in the facade industry. The value is real and accessible: recycled-aluminium facade systems are commercially available from European and North American producers at competitive pricing, and the embodied-carbon reduction can make a meaningful contribution to meeting RIBA 2030 or GLA whole-life carbon targets. The qualifications are worth naming: recycled content must be verifiable at product level through EPDs, not just supplier declarations, because the blend and provenance of scrap feed affects actual carbon factors significantly; post-consumer content (from end-of-life buildings) carries a lower carbon footprint than post-industrial scrap (manufacturing offcuts), and the distinction matters when calculating against a baseline. A specifier should require product-specific EPDs from shortlisted suppliers and check that recycled-content claims are third-party verified rather than self-declared.
#aluminium #recycled content #facade #embodied carbon