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Sustainability targets

SSAB aims to become one of the most sustainable steel companies. To support us in this ambition we have defined a set of sustainability targets on Group level. The targets and progresses are presented below. 

*The base year for monitoring the targets referred to above is 2014
Targets (annual/end of 2020)*   Status end of 2017
A lasting reduction of 300,000 tonnes in CO2 emissions by the end of 2020  

By the end of 2017, SSAB achieved 218,000 tonnes or 73% of this target

  • Switched from heavy fuel oil to LNG in Borlänge, reaching full CO2 reduction potential in 2015
  • Started a new hot stove in Oxelösund in 2015, which increased blast temperature and led to reduced CO2 emissions due to lower consumption of coke
  • Decreased blast furnace fuel rate and CO2 emissions through reduced moisture content of pellets in Raahe in 2016
  • Increased yield within the production of prime slabs in Luleå in 2016. The improvement is based on overall better yield improvement of prime slab production, improved raw material utilization for prime productions
  • New BOF vessels in Raahe in 2017 with increased volume increasing the yield thanks to less splashing
  • All energy savings resulting from reduced fuel consumption also reduce the CO2 emissions
A lasting reduction of 400 GWh in purchased energy by the end of 2020  

By the end of 2017, SSAB achieved 304 GWh (1,094 TJ) or 76% of this target

  • Applied principle of continuous improvement in developing energy efficiency at production sites
  • Optimized media systems for compressed air and hydraulics, as well as furnace control systems at several SSAB sites
  • Natural gas, supplied as LNG, replaced oil in Borlänge to fuel one of the reheating furnaces in the hot strip mill. The switch from oil to natural gas was completed in December 2014 and the main savings occurred in 2015
  • Consolidated color-coated product production from four lines to three in 2015, increasingthe energy efficiency of the Nordic production system as a whole
  • Transferred metal-coated product production from Borlänge to Hämeenlinna in 2016, increasing the energy efficiency of the Nordic production system
  • Expanded implementation of oxygen lancing in a reheating furnace in Borlänge in 2016
  • Upgraded the system of optimizing, heating and processing steel slabs in Iowa, US. Improvements were initiated in 2016 and further energy saving potential will be investigated
  • A new power plant with higher efficiency in Raahe in 2017. The increased efficiency of the power plant is achieved by increased technical efficiency, lower flaring of process gases and the change of steam turbine blower machine
A lasting improvement of 50,000 tonnes in residuals utilization by the end of 2020  

By the end of 2017, SSAB achieved 39,000 tonnes or 78% of this target

  • Basic oxygen steelmaking sludge turned into briquettes for use as a raw material instead of being landfilled in Luleå. Developed a new method for drying the sludge in 2014. This method involves taking the sludge from landfill and spreading it onto a large field to dry in the sun. Trials to produce briquettes from the dried material proved very successful in 2014-2015 and in 2016 the utilization of sludge has increased even further
  • Utilization of BOF dust through briquetting in Luleå in 2017
  • Utilization of ladle slag in the blast furnaces has been initiated in all steel works in the Nordics in 2015-2017
Employee engagement that exceeds that of benchmark global industrial companies (This is measured every other year, and most recently in 2017) 

Overall, the Employee Engagement Index (as measured by Voice, SSAB’s global employee survey) was below the external global norm and slightly below Voice 2015.

  • SSAB: 69 (70 in 2015)
  • External norm: 72
By the end of 2019, SSAB will have achieved the following gender diversity target:
Women holding 30% of the top management positions in the company 
   At the end of 2017, women held 27% (27) of SSAB’s top management positions
                                                                                                                                                                                         
 Target achieved    Slightly below target    Below target, plan to be developed