Zinc Stinks In Carbon Footprint Confrontation

New independent analysis commissioned by Mila has revealed that not only is stainless steel door hardware more durable than zinc diecast, it also has a lower carbon footprint.

That, claims Mila, is a powerful message for fabricators and installers to take to customers who want to buy more sustainably and to the commercial market, where there is so often a requirement to achieve carbon reduction targets. 

The analysis, carried out by consultants Tunley Engineering, revealed that annual carbon emissions for a Mila stainless steel door handle are only 17% that of a Mila zinc die cast equivalent.

In part, that is because stainless steel products have a lifespan which is typically five times longer than zinc, meaning that the carbon emissions can be averaged out over a longer period. More significantly it comes from the fact that the emission factors for producing zinc are 60+% higher than they are for steel and there are more energy intensive processes required to manufacture in zinc rather than in steel.

 

 “We’ve massively expanded our range of Supa stainless steel hardware products over the past three years and we’ve seen sales almost treble as a result, to a point where they now account for more than 45% of all the door hardware we sell.”

– Richard Gyde 

Managing director, Mila

 

An end to zinc

“These figures support our  efforts to encourage as many customers as possible to migrate from buying and fitting zinc to buying and fitting stainless steel,” Mila’s Gyde continues. “Obviously, stainless steel has long been the first choice at the upper end of the retail market for composite, timber and aluminium doors and increasingly in the commercial and social housing sectors where the enhanced durability can guarantee fewer costly remedials, But we’d like to see it become the default option for all doors so that remedials and hardware replacements because of failures in finishes essentially become a thing of the past.”

 

Testing

Mila’s Supa stainless steel hardware includes door handles, letterplates, pull bars, escutcheons and door knockers – the vast majority of which are available in either SS304 extreme or SS316 marine grade material for coastal and high pollution areas. The entire range has been independently performance tested for corrosion resistance to BSEN1670 Grade 5 and has sailed through more than 1000 hours in a salt spray test, enabling Mila to offer a 25-year surface finish and mechanical operation guarantee.

Picture: Stainless steel has beaten zinc in carbon footprint analysis conducted on behalf of .

www.mila.co.uk/the-stainless-steel-edit

Article written by Cathryn Ellis
14th September 2022

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