Steel industry report shows slight drop in carbon emissions over the last decade

The World Steel Association, worldsteel, has published Sustainability Indicators 2013 a decade after it initially established a set of eight sustainability indicators to measure environmental, social and economic performance.

The report compiles data from 2003 – 2012 and shows performance trends of each indicator, which reflect an overall improvement in most areas. For example:

Environmental performance:

• CO₂ emissions decreased from 1.8 in 2005 to 1.7 in 2011 (tonne of CO₂/tonne of crude steel cast).
• Energy intensity dropped from 22.9 GJ/tonne crude steel cast in 2005 to 19.6 in 2011.
• The percentage of material converted to products and byproducts remained relatively stable above 96% in 2003 - 2012, with the exception of 2011.

Social performance:

• LTI frequency rate dropped from 7.6 injuries/million hours worked in 2005 to 1.6 in 2012.
• The employee training indicator shows fluctuation over the period, but stood at an average 8.1 training days/employee in 2012.

Economic performance:

• Steady increase in new processes and products from 2003 – 2009 with a dip in investment in 2010 and 2011.

Edwin Basson, Director General of worldsteel, said: “Sustainability reporting at a global level is a major programme that the steel industry undertakes to manage its performance, demonstrate its commitment to sustainability, enhance transparency and show responsibility in dealing with global challenges.”

“We are one of the few industries that report at a global level and have done so since 2004. In 2005, 35 steel companies participated in the reporting and now more than 90 companies have joined the programme. We will continue to encourage our members and non-members to participate in this initiative that benefits not only society, but individual companies as they compare performance and learn from each other’s experience.”

The publication can be downloaded here

Adapted from press release by Katherine Gu