Specify glazing products made from UK-sourced low carbon aluminium

Window, door and curtain walling designer and manufacturer Senior Architectural Systems is reducing the carbon footprint generated through the transportation of its products by using UK-sourced closed-loop recycled aluminium.

With its new bespoke scheme - called ReAL 2.0 - the firm is targeting customers looking to further reduce the embodied carbon generated through the manufacture, transportation and disposal of aluminium fenestration products.

Senior can now manufacture all its products from aluminium extrusions that have a minimum of 75 per cent recycled content from post-consumer scrap materials, which are sourced and processed in the UK using low carbon methods.

ReAL 2.0 is currently only available to customers on request, but, as more aluminium from the UK is able to be recycled and reused, the company hopes supply will increase to reduce the reliance on importing recycled aluminium from overseas.

To support this, Senior plans to work with select clients to manage the removal of older aluminium fenestration products from retrofit schemes for recycling.

The UK currently has limited capacity for reprocessing aluminium so most recycled aluminium is imported. However, Senior has recently made changes to its main supply to make sure it can still offer all its customers a lower carbon option.

As one of the early adopters of recycled aluminium, Senior extrudes all its products from aluminium that contains more recycled materials than before and which generates lower carbon emissions throughout its production.

These emissions are measured in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents and 1kg of CO₂ equivalents is comparable to the effect of 1kg of CO₂ emission. The recycled aluminium Senior currently uses as part of its standard offering is below 4.0kgCO₂/kgA, which is significantly lower than the global average and approximately a 35 per cent reduction in carbon compared with the 6.1kgCO₂/kgA aluminium the manufacturer could offer before.

As it is sourced from the UK, which reduces the need for extensive transportation, Senior’s new ReAL 2.0 aluminium has an even lower carbon footprint at 2.0kgCO₂/kgA.

'We have long championed the use of recycled aluminium,' says Senior Architectural Systems’ managing director Mark Wadsworth, 'and, as a UK-based supplier, the transportation of our products is already less carbon intensive than others. However, there is always more that we can do and, by supporting the greater use of aluminium that has been recycled right here in the UK, we can hopefully help create a stronger supply and a more sustainable solution.'

Senior is the largest privately owned aluminium systems house in the UK. It manufacturers all its products in South Yorkshire.

For more information and technical support, visit seniorarchitectural.co.uk

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