For nearly half a century now, the world has celebrated Earth Day as a day – or, for some, an entire week – of activities, demonstrations, and seminars focusing on the environmental issues faced by the world. What once was a local celebration in a handful of cities has become a global observance. While it is a great reminder that we need to pay attention to our impact on the environment, at Caylor, we know that environmental mindfulness must be a year-round effort.
Steel and the Circular Economy
One of the major materials that we use here, and that is a permanent fixture in the circular economy, is steel. It also happens to be one of the most ecologically responsible materials. In a circular economy, society reduces the burden on nature by keeping resources in use for as long as possible.
Steel is perfect for this, as steel is a permanent material. Once it is created, the weight can be reduced, and steel components can be reused, remanufactured, and recycled into new products. This promotes conservation of the raw materials, innovation, efficiency, and emissions reductions. It helps to create jobs, and also encourages the development of durable products.
The evolution of steel over the last few years has helped to produce high-strength steels. In the last three decades alone, improvement in the process has allowed for a weight reduction of up to 40% in some steels, which is responsible for a decrease in emissions and energy use to create, transport, and utilize. Even for regular steel, the amount of energy required to produce a tone has decreased dramatically, reducing the consumption by 60% per ton.
The production is highly efficient as well – roughly 97.3% of material used in the steelmaking process is utilized. Not only is the steel created, the by-products of the process are used in asphalt, fertilizers, plastics, paints, and more. Even the gasses produced during the process can be used for heating or electricity.
Green Initiatives at Caylor Industrial
At Caylor, we have played a big part in supplying parts to industries that strive to decrease our material and energy usage. We enjoy working with companies that are involved in green initiatives such as wastewater treatment and carpet recycling projects. Many of the industries we serve have major pushes for green projects, not to mention internal efforts to reduce consumption and increase reuse.
Here at Caylor Industrial, we always consider our larger impact in our sales and internal processes, with the aim of having the least impact as possible on the environment. Our structural steel and metal alloy products come from responsible producers who see steel as part of a circular economy and try to incorporate environmentally-sound processes in their production.
Make sure to follow us here on our blog, and connect with us through LinkedIn and Twitter to make sure you stay up to date with what is going on at Caylor. Keep an eye out for further information regarding our environmental stewardship, as well as other news and programs. Comment or questions? Contact us today!