Turning ambitious environmental targets into deliverable buildings is a key industry challenge. But Frameclad have shown how it can be done at Plasyfelin Primary School, Caerphilly, by combining intelligent design, advanced manufacturing and a new generation of low-carbon steel.
Work officially began in September 2025 on the £23million replacement for Plasyfelin Primary School – a flagship development that will become Caerphilly County Borough Council’s first net zero school. Jointly funded by the council and Welsh Government through the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme, the project represents a significant investment in the future of education provision and the ambition to create high-performance, sustainable public buildings.
Being delivered by BAM Construction within the grounds of the existing school, the new facility will accommodate 420 pupils alongside enhanced nursery and integrated childcare provision. Sporting facilities will also be available to pupils and the wider community, creating a multi-purpose education and community asset. For Frameclad, the project presented an opportunity to demonstrate how light steel frame can contribute to the environmental credentials of a building.
ECO-LSF – taking sustainability to another level
Appointed by BAM Construction, Frameclad designed, engineered and manufactured the ECO-LSF infill system for the project. Developed as a more environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional light steel framing, ECO-LSF is manufactured from 100% recycled steel using Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) technology powered by renewable energy.
Steel is often viewed as a material bank, with hundreds of millions of tonnes recycled globally each year, its inherent value is retained throughout its lifecycle and beyond, as it can be recovered, reused and recycled many times. ECO-LSF builds on this inherent circularity by maximising the use of recycled scrap steel and reducing reliance on virgin raw materials. The result is a light steel solution designed to support the transition from the traditional linear construction model of ‘take, make, dispose’ towards a more circular approach – ‘reuse, recycle, repeat’.
For Frameclad, it is also the next step in an established commitment to sustainability. Its conventional steel has historically contained around 60% recycled content, but the development of ECO-LSF was driven by the need to go further.
“After significant time and research, we are proud to give our clients an even more sustainable option,” says Nik Teagle, Joint Managing Director at Frameclad. “ Taking it up another level and remaining competitive has taken time, but we are extremely proud that projects using ECO LSF are now underway.”
Significantly lower carbon emissions
By using EAF technology, powered by renewable energy and recycled steel, ECO-LSF can achieve up to 70% lower carbon emissions compared with traditional steelmaking processes, providing contractors and developers with another mechanism for reducing embodied carbon within their projects. Importantly, however, the environmental credentials do not come at the expense of performance. ECO-LSF retains the strength, durability, safety and fire performance expected from a modern light steel frame system, demonstrating that lower-carbon construction does not have to mean compromising on technical requirements.
This is particularly relevant to public sector projects such as Plasyfelin, where environmental ambition must sit alongside demanding requirements for safety, quality, programme certainty, reduced maintenance and enhanced long-term performance.
Factory-controlled environments
The school also illustrates the wider role of offsite manufacture and industrialised construction in delivering more sustainable buildings. By combining digital design, engineering and precision manufacturing, Frameclad can produce light steel systems in a controlled factory environment before they arrive on site, supporting a more efficient and predictable construction process.
As governments, clients and regulators place increasing emphasis on embodied carbon, circularity and whole life environmental performance, the ability to make more sustainable material choices at the design stage will become increasingly important. Plasyfelin Primary School provides a compelling example of this approach in practice. The project is not simply about creating a new school – it is about demonstrating how public-sector investment can support a different model of construction — one where environmental performance is considered from the outset and innovative technologies are used to turn net zero aspirations into a physical reality.
Delivering long-term value
For Frameclad, ECO-LSF represents more than a new product. It is a practical response to the changing demands of construction. “We are proud to support the objectives of the DfE’s new Education Estates Strategy and its recent fundamental shift in how education buildings are designed, delivered and managed,” adds Martin Jamieson, Joint Managing Director, Frameclad. “ The strategy is about much more than replacing ageing buildings – it is about creating resilient, sustainable and high-performing education spaces that deliver long-term value for pupils, communities and the public purse.
“Our ECO-LSF system demonstrates how innovation in construction can help turn those ambitions into reality. By harnessing Electric Arc Furnace technology and 100% recycled steel, we can deliver a high-performing light steel infill solution with significantly lower embodied carbon, without compromising safety, quality or performance. It is exactly the kind of practical innovation needed to help the education sector meet its sustainability ambitions while delivering the safe, resilient, future-ready buildings it needs.”
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