Fossil-Free And Sustainable Steel?
The emissions from steel production are huge and steel procuring companies have a key role to play in reducing this burden on the planet. We assessed the largest steel-using companies operating in Finland for the environmental and climate impact of their supply chains.
These companies have policies in place to ensure the sustainability of their supply chains. But are these plans truly comprehensive and effective or should companies step up their game?
The results are updated annually. Follow this page to see if the companies are making progress in their targets!
Scoreboard
The scoreboard allows you to compare the companies’ scores. It also gives you an overview of how well companies are taking sustainability and climate impact into account throughout their supply chain and specifically related to the steel they buy.
The scoring was done using consistent and transparent criteria and based on publicly available official reporting which has received board level sign-off. The methodology was originally developed by Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) for the Lead the Charge network.
The full methodology (PDF) and detailed scores (Excel) are also available for review.
| Company | Revenue (million euros) | Sector | Total Score | General Supply Chain: Disclosure | General Supply Chain: Target Setting | General Supply Chains: Levers | Steel Supply Chain: Disclosure | Steel Supply Chain: Target Setting | Steel Supply Chain: Levers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wärtsilä | 5800 | Machinery | 11% | 50% | 0% | 25% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Metso | 200 | Machinery | 14% | 50% | 38% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 10% |
| KONE | 9720 | Machinery | 12% | 50% | 38% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Valmet | 5074 | Machinery | 21% | 50% | 42% | 25% | 0% | 17% | 0% |
| YIT | 3400 | Construction | 7% | 0% | 8% | 25% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Skanska | 17200 | Construction | 11% | 50% | 33% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Fiskars | 1250 | Consumer Goods | 18% | 0% | 42% | 25% | 0% | 8% | 20% |
| Harvia | 172 | Consumer Goods | 8% | 0% | 0% | 25% | 0% | 0% | 10% |
| Meyer Turku | 1080 | Shipbuilding | 6% | 0% | 0% | 25% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| OX2 | 113 | Renewable Energy | 7% | 13% | 0% | 25% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Enersense | 268 | Renewable Energy | 6% | 0% | 0% | 25% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
The Time For A Fossil-Free Steel Revolution Is Now
The technology to decarbonise steel production already exists and steel buyers have a key role in encouraging investment in these solutions. Commitments to procure fossil-free steel strengthens the demand signal for climate-friendly alternatives, which makes the required investments less risky for steel producers.
Companies talk a lot about the sustainability and low carbon aspects of their supply chains, including for steel procurement. However, our assessment reveals that there is still huge room for improvement in actual implementation.
Our recommendations for steel buyers:
- Companies must improve their sustainability reporting. In order to reduce the negative environmental impact of their supply chain, companies must first accurately measure and report the greenhouse gas emissions, other air emissions and the water use of their supply chain.
- Companies must set science-based and time-bound greenhouse gas emission reduction targets as well as separate targets for water use and reducing other harmful emissions.
- Companies must put in place processes (e.g. auditing and monitoring systems, surveys, cooperation with suppliers) to monitor and track their suppliers’ corporate responsibility and sustainability performance. Greenhouse gas emission reduction targets must be directly incorporated into procurement criteria.
- Companies must set science-based and time-bound targets for the use of fossil-free and sustainable steel. Companies must monitor their progress by disclosing the current percentage of fossil free steel in their annual production cycle.
- Companies must incentivise investment in fossil-free and environmentally sustainable steel production by cooperating with other buyers (e.g. by participating in multi-stakeholder initiatives such as SteelZero, ResponsibleSteel and SBTi) and suppliers (e.g. through formal purchasing agreements, joint ventures, investments).
- Companies must consider the recyclability of steel and material efficiency in product design and manufacturing, e.g. by using a closed-loop process for steel, reducing the amount of steel used, extending the life of products e.g. through repair services, and increasing the proportion of recycled steel in products.