If you surveyed people and asked them what they thought the benefits of steel buildings were, what do you think you would hear? You might hear strong, durable… environmentally friendly?? Environmentally friendly is not what you would ever expect when discussing the benefits of a steel building for a traditional wood built building. While steel buildings are indeed strong and durable, they are also friendly to the environment in many different ways! Here are just a few of the great ways that choosing a steel building can help your environment and economy.

Strength is great asset in supporting your environment. In places with extreme weather or natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, steel buildings can withstand a lot more punishment than most conventional builds. With this added strength from the outside elements, there is far less destruction involved, resulting in less waste management. Also with the added strength comes longevity. The longer the structure lasts, the less resources needed for demolition or reconstruction.

An option for making your steel building energy efficient is cool coatings. In traditional builds, heat is stored in the roof throughout the day as the sun shines down on it. The heat radiates back into the atmosphere during the night, which contributes to global warming. Cool coatings increase the reflective quality of your steel building. With a higher reflective quality, heat is reflected back up during the day instead of the night, reducing the need for air conditioning during the summer months.

Sustainability is detrimental to being considered environmentally friendly. As mentioned above, steel buildings will last much longer than traditional builds. The speed of constructing a steel building is unmatched. Most come as preassembled parts requiring much less time to build, meaning fewer resources needed also.

Steel is 100% recyclable. Unlike most other products that are recycled, steel never loses its strength, even during the recycling process. With steel being so recyclable, it does not leave a carbon footprint since there is no waste. Landfills are less used than as they are with traditionally built buildings since steel is generally only thrown away by accident. On average, a 2,000 square foot house consumes an astounding 50 trees during the building process. With a steel building, on average the steel consumption adds up to about 6 cars. Using recycled steel is also better for our economy since it stops the use of foreign steel and supplies American Steel Workers with jobs.

The benefits and needs for steel constructed buildings goes far beyond the customary strength and durability. More people are realizing the added benefits of being environmentally friendly. The more people find out, the more opportunity we have to protect our environment and help it last for the future.