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Low on carbon footprint. High on sustainability.
”The construction industry has an important role in the transition towards a lower-carbon future. Choices related to raw materials, building products, logistics, construction processes and the building use phase all influence the environmental footprint of buildings. We offer a wide range of lower-carbon solutions that can help reduce environmental impacts and support lower-carbon construction.”
Jyrki Kesti, Sustainability and Technology Manager, Building Envelopes
Towards lower-carbon building products
When you look at the complete lifecycle of a building, it is important to evaluate the total carbon emissions of all building materials and products and the construction process — known as the building’s embodied carbon. We work systematically towards reducing the environmental impact of our products by not only minimizing embodied carbon emissions today, but also considering the future emissions impacts during the product’s lifecycle — durability, longevity, end-of-life scenarios, reusability, and recyclability.
Fossil free steel as an enabler
SSAB , LKAB (Europe’s largest iron ore producer) and Vattenfall (one of Europe’s largest energy companies) have joined forces in HYBRIT. Using HYBRIT technology, SSAB aims to replace coking coal, traditionally needed for ore-based steelmaking, with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen. The result will be the world’s first fossil-free steelmaking technology, with virtually no carbon footprint. Goal is to reduce Sweden’s CO2 emissions by 10 % and Finland’s by 7 %.
We in Ruukki were the first in line to utilize this revolutionary fossil free steel in building products.
Opting for low CO2 and circular raw materials to reduce environmental impact
Already today, we are focusing on low carbon and circular raw materials in our products to offer low-carbon products to our customers.
- Our parent company SSAB’s color-coated steel has carbon footprint less than the global average
- Over 70 % of the weight of Ruukki Life panel insulation is made of recycled glass
- Our own PIR-formulation contains a raw material that uses 50 % recycled PE
From 2024 we have delivered low carbon building products based on recycled steel.
Optimizing processes to reduce carbon footprint
We aim to reduce the carbon footprint of our own operations (Scope 1 & 2) by 85% by the year 2035 compared to 2019 — we are almost getting there through deliberate action in our everyday processes:
- Optimizing material use to reduce material needs and product weight, helping to reduce energy use and emissions across material production, transportation and installation.
- Most of our plants have shifted to fossil-free electricity
- Most of our plants have already switched to electric and bio-diesel forklift trucks
- Opting for bio-based fuel – already implemented in Sweden and Finland
- Improving the energy efficiency of buildings at all our plants
- Investing in on-site solar power generation – first installations in Poland
- Reducing steel and insulation waste during manufacturing by optimizing production and product sizes
- Reducing packaging material use and packaging weight — wooden pallet weight has already been reduced and opportunities to reduce plastic use are being explored.
"We are proud of our process development and energy efficiency actions in Oborniki factory in Poland. For example, our smart solutions in the new mineral wool panel line directly contribute to our emission reduction targets. With new production technology, we can use thinner slabs and thus decrease the amount of wool dust at the milling station. We use less energy to ensure proper temperature conditions for the production process and we have introduced new ways of waste management, such as press compactors for wool scrap that reduce its volume and lower transportation costs. We effectively reuse panel core’s scrap as a raw material for new products.”
Marcin Remisz, Production Manager, Oborniki plant
Moving towards lower-emission logistics
- Our production plants are located near our customers, helping to reduce transportation distances and related emissions. For example, we have recently opened new PIR panel production line in Sweden to be close to our Nordic customers.
- Improving logistics efficiency by maximizing full loads and optimizing return loads delivering raw materials to the factory
- Actively seeking lower-emission logistic solutions together with our contract transportation companies
Solutions supporting building performance throughout the lifecycle
Examples of our low carbon products
Focusing on reusability, renewability and end-of-life optimization
- Our superior coating solutions, supported by product warranties, enable a long service life with low maintenance needs, while the Ruukki® Patina Panel is designed to be essentially maintenance-free by forming a natural protective surface.
- Most of our products also enable reusing if the building life span is less than the product service life. Reuse helps reduce the need for new materials and the associated lifecycle emissions.
- Preservation of steel’s inherent properties after recycling classifies them as “permanent materials"
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