Hot-Rolled Structural Steel Sections

Declaration details

Manufacturer

American Institute of Steel Construction

Program operator

Smart EPD

Declaration number

SmartEPD-2025-090-0613-01.2

Date of issue

October 14, 2025

Valid until

October 14, 2030

Product category rules (PCR)

Smart EPD® Part B PCR for Designated Steel Construction Products, 1000-008, v3.0 (version 3)

Standard

ISO 14025:2006 and ISO 21930:2017

Declared unit

1 metric ton of product

System boundary

Cradle to gate with other options (A1 - A3, B1 - B7, C1 - C4)

Product specificity

Product Average

Manufacturing specificity

Industry Average

Product category

Steel › StructuralSteel › HotRolledSections

Product SKU

Hot-rolled structural steel sections fall under CSI and UNSPSC codes: • CSI 05 12 00 Structural Steel Framing • CSI 05 12 13 Architecturally-Exposed Structural Steel Framing • CSI 05 12 23 Structural Steel for Buildings • UNSPSC 30103618 – Steel framework

Product service life

75 years

Verifier

Rifat Karim, Independent Consultant

LCA software

openLCA 2.4

Program instructions

Smart EPD General Program Instructions v.2.0, March 2025

Life cycle assessment results

Results per 1 metric ton of product.

Environmental Impact Assessment Results

Resource Use Indicators

Waste and Output Flow Indicators

ND = not declared. Life cycle modules: A1-A3 product stage, A4-A5 construction process, B use stage, C end of life, D benefits and loads beyond the system boundary.

Material composition

Hazardous substances

The products do not contain any hazardous substances according to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Subtitle 3. The products do not release dangerous substances to the environment, including indoor air emissions, gamma or ionizing radiation, or chemicals released to air or leached to water and soil. Therefore, no substances required to be reported as hazardous are associated with the production of this product.

Scenarios

End of life (C1-C4)

Collected separately

1000 kg

Recycling

970 kg

Landfill

30 kg

Product description

Hot-rolled structural steel sections are typically used in construction applications in buildings, bridges, and industrial projects.

While a variety of steel products may be produced via hot-rolling, in the context of structural steel construction, this EPD's scope is limited to the following definition.

Hot-rolled structural steel sections are:

W-, S-, C-, and MC- shapes, angles, and

Produced at a mill whose primary output is heavy structural sections intended for subsequent fabrication and installation in buildings, bridges, and other structural applications

Hot-rolled structural steel sections specifically exclude:

Products that do not meet the definition of structural steel per AISC’s Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges (ANSI/AISC 303-2022), such as H-piles, sheet pile, railroad rail, and crane rail

Products originating from a “Bar Mill”, such as rebar, MBQ, SBQ, rod, and wire

“Junior” sections, such as those under 8 inches in depth

Miscellaneous M- shapes

Interpretation

For industry average results, A3 (steelmaking) was the largest contributor to impact, amounting to 77% of the total GWP and 51-79% for all other impact categories. Transportation of feedstock materials to the mills was a minor contributor. Within the mill sites, the EAF steelmaking process is the largest contributor, representing 75% of the overall GWP results. It is also the most significant contributor to all other impacts (69% - 86%). Electricity usage at the mills represents the highest contribution to each LCIA impact category, ranging from 18% - 41% of the overall A1-A3 impacts and contributing 38% of the GWP impact.