IRSI welcomes ‘green’ steel standard

Recyclers in the US are backing a new standard for the steel industry to measure and report carbon emissions in steel production.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) in the US has welcomed the Global Steel Climate Council’s (GSCC) newly released Steel Climate Standard.

It believes the standard offers a single protocol that can apply to all steel producers equally and will enable customers to know and compare the actual carbon emissions associated with steel products the buy, regardless of how they are made. The standard focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from steel-making with a science-based approach needed to meet goals outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement.

‘Recycling is key’

‘The use of recycled products is key to decarbonising steel production and manufacturing supply chains around the globe,’ says ISRI president Robin Wiener. ‘The GSCC Steel Climate Standard is the right approach to levelling the playing field among steel producers, while also recognising the key role that recycled steel plays to meet decarbonisation goals in the decades ahead.’ 

The US is a global leader in the production of low carbon steel, with more than 70% of new steel produced using electric arc furnaces (EAFs) to produce high quality steel from 100% recycled material.

ISRI also notes that alternative steel standards that claim to be ‘green’, like the Responsible Steel International Standard 2.0 cannot be considered so because it allows high-carbon emissions to be prioritised over low-carbon steel such as that using recycled material.