Building a football stadium is always special, but the new 15 000-seat SC Cambuur stadium in Leeuwarden in the Netherlands is a first: It is the first stadium in the world to use XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel.

A sustainable alternative

"We want to take responsibility in terms of sustainability,” says Michel Kolk, sales director of Voortman Steel Construction. “For example, we are in the process of mapping our whole CO2 footprint. In this context, thanks to our cooperation with ArcelorMittal Staalhandel (ArcelorMittal Distribution Solutions Benelux), we can now offer our clients a sustainable alternative to the usual steel beams. The fact that XCarb® recycled and renewably produced sections are being used for the first time in a prestigious project like the Cambuur stadium gives it an extra dimension in terms of sustainability and provides a great reference! We hope that many more projects with XCarb® will follow so that together with our partners we can contribute to a cleaner construction chain.”

Voortman Steel Construction and Van Wijnen: a joint design process

Voortman Steel Construction was commissioned by Van Wijnen to supply and assemble over 1746 tonnes of steel for the stadium, including the 30-metre-long roof trusses, the floor beams, and the four lighting columns.

Voortman Steel Construction designs, manufactures, and delivers high quality projects in steel from engineering to assembly.

Van Wijnen is a Dutch construction group active in project development, housing construction, renovation and transformation, area development, and property management.

CO2 savings

As a result of the talks between ArcelorMittal’s Steligence® team and Van Wijnen and the discussions between ArcelorMittal Staalhandel and their customer Voortman, the selection of XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel quickly became an obvious choice. In fact, 80% of all the sections that will be assembled in the stadium are in ArcelorMittal's sustainable steel using 100% renewable electricity and 100% scrap. Compared to the use of typical steel, the choice of XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel represents a saving of over 285 tonnes of CO2-eq. This is roughly equal to the emissions of over 160 diesel cars driving 10 000 kilometres on an annual basis.

A story that will repeat itself in the future

Voortman and ArcelorMittal Staalhandel have been playing on the same team for years. However, this new stadium is changing the game by putting the XCarb® recycled and renewably produced offer on the field as a key player. And that is what makes the difference in winning the sustainability match!

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia

Images:
ArcelorMittal

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New Cambuur stadium

The 12th edition of the Polish Green Building Council (PLGBC) Green Building Summit took place in Warsaw from 6-7 October 2022 with ArcelorMittal Steligence® as a partner of the event.

ArcelorMittal was awarded ‘Sustainable product of the year’ for its XCarb® recycled and renewably produced low-carbon steel.

The PLGBC Green Building Summit – a symbol of green progress – is a conference for the Polish real estate, construction, and architecture industries. The theme of this year’s event was 'Time to (re)think'.

This cyclical event is dedicated to everyone interested in climate issues, sustainable construction, and sustainable development goals (SDGs), including: investors, developers, tenants, architects, designers, engineers, manufacturers, financial institutions, local governments, top management, municipal activists, NGOs, students, university professors, and the media.

Event overview & the decarbonisation of construction

This international event was held in a hybrid format. The programme included talks, panels, and presentations. This year, there were two days of activities: the first was a day-long conference, culminating in the presentation of the PLGBC Green Building Awards. The second day was dedicated to the decarbonisation of construction as part of the #BuildingLife project.

ArcelorMittal won the PLGBC Green Building Award for its recently launched XCarb® recycled and renewably produced low-carbon steel in the ‘Sustainable product of the year’ category.

On the second day, dedicated to the decarbonisation of construction, Maciej Chrzanowski (PhD Eng), Steligence® structural engineer in Poland, gave a presentation on 'The role of materials in reducing a building's carbon footprint'.

Steel as we know it is undergoing a major transformation. Modern, sustainable construction requires building products and materials to have a minimal or zero embedded carbon footprint.

ArcelorMittal has shown that steel can be produced responsibly, respecting both human rights and the environment. The steel solutions are lightweight, strong, and highly reliable, but they are also circular and environmentally friendly. ArcelorMittal is not only a leader in the production of steel products, but also in innovation.

The use of low-carbon steel alone has a definite positive impact on reducing the embedded carbon footprint of planned buildings, but the key is to take the right approach to the building under consideration and to its design by optimising solutions, especially in terms of the embedded carbon footprint. As such, preceding the low-carbon steel itself, ArcelorMittal has introduced Steligence® to the construction market.

About the Polish Green Building Council (PLGBC)

The Polish Green Building Council (PLGBC) is a non-governmental organisation. Since 2008, it has been working towards the transformation of buildings, cities, and their surroundings in such a way that they are planned, designed, constructed, used, modernised, demolished, and processed as sustainably as possible.

The organisation supports the creation of sustainable buildings for all by:

• working to halt climate change and adapt to new conditions
• applying the principles of circular economy
• bettering the well-being, quality of life, and health of society
• enhancing biodiversity

The Polish Green Building Council is part of a global community of more than 70 green building organisations brought together under the World Green Building Council.

Text:
Event organiser
Constructalia

Images:
Polish Green Building Council (PLGBC)

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