US Steel Ramps Up Recycling and Identifies Material ESG Topics
United States Steel announced a sustainable steel product, set a goal to have net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050 and determined the nine significant ESG topics that were most important to the company. The company recycled 73 per cent more scrap steel in 2020 than it did in 2021.
US Steel has disclosed in its 2021 sustainability report that it has decreased its Scope 1 and 2 emissions to 1.93 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per tonne of raw steel, a decrease from its 2020 level of 2.20 tonnes. The company attributes the reductions to enhancing the efficiency of its equipment, decreasing its coal consumption, and switching to energy-efficient lighting.
The company has also highlighted its most important ESG-related objectives. US Steel came up with a total of 16 things but separated nine of them into distinct focuses.
US Steel's initiatives include air quality, energy conservation, greenhouse gas emissions, water quality and conservation, and energy conservation. The company reports that an independent third party helped revise its 2019 materiality evaluation to make it more complete and involve external stakeholders.
In addition to these initiatives, US Steel offered training on climate risks under the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework. The company also states that it expects its suppliers to adhere to its requirements and that suppliers must maintain records demonstrating compliance.
According to the EPA, steel and iron manufacturing in the United States produced 62.1 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2020. This is a decrease from 2011's total of almost 89 million metric tonnes, and several sustainable steel initiatives in the United States involve the use of hydrogen, biocarbon, and renewable energy to improve production processes.
For its part, US Steel has acquired Big River Steel in Arkansas, which it describes as the only LEED-certified steelmaking facility in the country. US Steel is constructing two finishing lines at the site that will allow it to make sustainable steel, including electrical steel that is not grain-oriented.
The company recently broke ground on an advanced sustainable steel mill at Big River Steel, which will be 75 per cent less carbon intensive than conventional steel manufacturing facilities, according to the company.
In addition, US Steel claims to have recycled over 5.2 million metric tonnes of scrap steel in 2021. In addition, it recycled approximately 3.2 million metric tonnes of blast furnace slag and over 235,000 metric tonnes of steel slag last year, selling it as aggregate and for use in highway buildings.
In 2021, US Steel improved six electric shovels and acquired two more. The company then withdrew four diesel-powered shovels, which it claims decreased carbon dioxide emissions by 14,500 tonnes at its Minnesota mining operations. In addition, the business is converting two diesel-electric switcher locomotives to battery-electric switchers, a process that will be completed next year, according to the company.
The addition of natural gas injection capabilities to a blast furnace, according to the business, will cut emissions, enhance efficiency, and raise the heating value of the blast furnace gas used to generate steam and electricity for the facility. According to US Steel, this will save 70,000 metric tonnes of carbon annually.
Source: Environmental Leader
