No steel – no society.
Bit simplistic but look around and it’s true. From the laptop I’m writing this on, to the car or bus you get in, the supermarket or stall you shop at, the clothes rail you sort through and the cooker that warms up your dinner. Steel is everywhere.
In fact it is the world’s most important building material, used every place you can imagine. And as we transition to cleaner technologies like solar and wind and nuclear and batteries…it will be needed just as much!
It’s been around for thousands of years and for nearly all that time it’s been made by using coal and a very hot furnace. A process which emits so much carbon it’s 10% of global emissions.
If steel were a nation it would be the fourth largest emitting country in the world
So what can be done about it. That’s what I discussed with Annie Heaton the CEO of ResponsibleSteel, a cross between a trade body and a pressure group, its members include steel makers, consumer groups, academics and environmentalists. Its goal is to clean up the steel sector and ensure this most vital of building materials can bring down its carbon footprint.
We spoke about many things including the reason coal is actually a vital part of the steel making process, as it’s fundamental to the chemistry to making the metal alloy. Listen in and you’ll get to know the challenges. (We talk about electric furnaces and hydrogen).
However, one of the other things ResponsibleSteel is doing is creating standards and certifications, so that the nations or companies purchasing steel can know its footprint as Annie explained..
“There are four different levels of progress, right. The end point is where we want to be in 2050. That’s near zero. And that’s defined by the IEA, the International Energy Agency and the starting point to say, what is at least not dirty steel, is steel that is better than average, right?
“Our first progress level we will award a certificate to is steel that not only meets all of our sustainability principles but is better than average. And we think that that’s worth acknowledging. By saying that the starting point is average, that’s 50%, isn’t it? So 50% of the world’s steel is better than average today. We need all of that steel to be better than average by 2030. And a lot more of it to be 25% less.
“So, our second progress level is what you might say is lower emissions steel, is 25% better than average. And then low emission steel is 25% further. Right. So you’ve got four different progress levels. And we want to get to everybody better than the average today by 2030.
“Then we need a considerable amount to be at our second progress level, low emission steel. And the IEA says we need about 8% of steel to be near zero by 2030.”
Listen for the full conversation I assure you it’s fundamental to our future hopes! Don’t forget to subscribe.
