The session of the Iron Division on October 29 was dedicated to low-carbon products, often referred to as “green steel,” produced from recycled steel using renewable energy sources. However, discussions during the session revealed that there is no clear consensus within the industry on what qualifies as “green” and that there is no clear path to reaching this consensus.
Executive Director of the Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC), Adina Renee Adler, stated in her presentation that she avoids using the term “green steel” because it remains undefined. According to Adler, sustainability relates to standards and goals, while emission intensity in steel products is also a key metric. She noted that the GSCC was established in 2022 to create a standard for measuring and reporting emissions, driven by climate agreements, the European Green Deal, and the pressures from customers, consumers, and investors.
EMR Sustainability Director Patrick Davison highlighted that sustainability is a complex and challenging area, posing the question, “Can blast furnaces be green?” Davison commented that these facilities claim to have high-quality and high-volume material, but the production process leaves a significant environmental footprint.
Davison’s presentation focused on vehicles that, at the end of their life cycle, supply materials to recyclers and are potential customers for secondary products. He pointed out that around one-third of ELVs (End-of-Life Vehicles) in Europe disappear from the broader European market, but EMR aims to retain this material for further processing.
Inconsistent Regulations
While many in the sector voiced concerns about regulations, Davison emphasized that his main concern is the inconsistent implementation of legislation. “We need to be reasonably comfortable with a degree of self-regulation. What I’m talking about is collaborating to understand the challenges and being very clear and consistent as an industry on what we believe green steel is,” he said.
The session chair, Shane Mellor, General Manager of Mellor Metals, opened the Q&A session by questioning why the importance of recycled steel in making steel products more sustainable is not sufficiently recognized.
In response, George Adams, CEO and President of SA Recycling, said that reducing the carbon footprint of steel production globally would be challenging without common regulations. Adams noted that, in the U.S., it’s “easier for factories to operate with iron ore pellets rather than recycled steel,” and that “they don’t focus as much on their carbon footprint as they do on their premiums.” However, he emphasized the importance of recycling, stating, “Whether it’s aluminum, steel, or copper, nothing reduces carbon more than recycling. The EU is much further ahead than the U.S. in terms of regulation because, at the end of the day, customers still consider cost.”
Zero-Emission Scrap
Panelist Emmanuel Katrakis, Director of Public and Regulatory Affairs at Galloo (France/Belgium), argued that the U.S. is actually ahead of the EU because 70% of steel in electric arc furnaces is produced using recycled steel. Katrakis highlighted that the main challenge in the EU is the energy crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine, which has led to energy prices diverging from those in the rest of the world. Meanwhile, the U.S. has implemented Inflation Reduction Act policies, which Katrakis said have encouraged decarbonization investments in the U.S. rather than in Europe. He questioned the issue of standards, asking, “Why are there so many standards? Which standard do you choose?”
In her presentation, Adler argued for the need to collect emissions data across the supply chain, but Adams countered by saying that scrap should be considered zero-emission. “Some scrap won’t be recyclable because it’s too far away. You’re going to say, ‘Oh, this has a large carbon footprint,’” Adams remarked, expressing concerns that this type of data reporting would be overwhelming for small traders.
Mellor agreed, stating, “When a product enters a recycling facility, it has reached the end of its life. At that point, it’s at zero.” Adler added that the demand for this type of data is coming from customers and investors, saying, “You don’t need to calculate every molecule at 100%, but they’re asking for more and more information, and we’re trying to increase the percentage of primary data we can provide.”
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