The beauty of aluminium as an almost perfect building material is it’s strength, durability and sustainability. Being strong, yet lightweight it is not only easier to transport it is easier and less expensive to install than heavier and/or more bulky building materials.
It is worth highlighting aluminium’s key sustainable credentials and also the work that CAB (Council for Aluminium in Building) is doing throughout Britain to promote the material to the wider sector. It’s CEO Justin Ratcliffe is also the current chair of the UK Window Sustainability Partnership (WSP), lobbying for a longer acknowledged service life for aluminium in building (currently 40 years within the BRE Green Guide) and working with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to update Aluminium’s generic environmental profiles.
CAB is also a key voice for updating the industry about the objectives of the worldwide mining community and reporting back on how successful they have been in achieving their objectives. In future, this element of Responsible Sourcing will become THE key factor for Clients and we are already seeing signs of it now.
Aluminium is also able to be 100% re-cycled, setting it apart from other fenestration profiles such as Crittall, hardwood (which will eventually rot), steel framed, other metals and UPVC. Aluminium can also be powder coated in any colour to deliver an extremely hard wearing finish – The same cannot be said of spray painted or foiled UPVC!
