Environmental benefits of SSAB’s steel
SSAB has high ambitions in the development of fossil-free steel, but our steel is already bringing environmental benefits to our customers.
CO2-efficient steel production
SSAB’s blast furnace-based production is one of the most CO2-efficient in the world, thanks to the use of high-quality iron ore pellets and coke, and efficient processes. In a comparison, our blast furnace-based production of cold rolled steel emits an estimated 6% less carbon dioxide than the European average, and as much as 17% less than the average in China. In the US, our scrap-based steel mills with electric arc furnaces use close to 100% recycled steel as raw material, resulting in much lower direct CO2 emissions than is the case with iron ore-based steel production.
Environmental Product Declarations
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a document audited by a third party that has transparent, comparable information about the environmental impact of products from a life cycle perspective. An EPD from SSAB meets international standards and provides objective information that highlights the low carbon footprint of SSAB products. This is also a very good tool for SSAB customers who are wanting to minimize their environmental impact. An EPD reports information from the entire product life cycle. This means that emissions from suppliers are included, as well as the energy used to manufacture the product. There is an EPD available for all SSAB products.
EcoUpgraded
Our EcoUpgraded concept saves carbon dioxide both in steel production and during the entire useful life of the end product. When upgrading from standard steels to SSAB’s high-strength steels, the weight of the end product can be reduced with retained strength, while increasing wear resistance and productivity. This is beneficial from a life cycle perspective, as the greatest environmental impact arises during use of the end product.
State-of-the-art steel making technology
The carbon footprint represents the life cycle emissions of a product, measured in CO2 equivalents. Here, the emissions from SSAB’s production and indirect upstream emissions are included – i.e ‘cradle to gate’.
Greenhouse gas emissons *
Lower is better
Fossil-free electricity *
Higher is better
* Values are valid for production in Sweden/Finland.
Sources:
thinkstep, GWP benchmarking of BF route steel sheet, December 2019, and SSAB's associated EPD data, March 2020. International Energy Agency, electricity generation by source, 2020.
Results
Greenhouse gas emissons *
2.23
2.63
2.71
2.13
2.42
ton CO2e/ton
15% less than global!
17% less than global!
10% less than global!
15% less than global!
Fossil-free electricity *
91%
91%
91%
91%
91%
54 units better than global!
54 units better than global!
54 units better than global!
54 units better than global!
54 units better than global!
* Values are valid for production in Sweden/Finland.
The values are taken from the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Click to see how the numbers compare globally and regionally.
Durability and high-strength steels
SSAB has a wide range of high-strength and wear-resistant steels that provide environmental benefits for our customers in terms of, for example, lower weight and higher capacity:
Strenx
Upgrading to Strenx® performance steel brings environmental benefits from day one.
Hardox
Reduce environmental impact with Hardox ® wear-resistant plate.
Docol
Docol® AHSS steel can improve your car’s life cycle analysis.