At SSAB, steelmaking processes have been continuously advanced and improved. As a result, SSAB’s blast furnaces today are among the most CO₂ efficient in the world in terms of minimizing emissions from steel production. This gives a competitive advantage to SSAB and its customers.
There are two different ways of producing steel. The processes are differentiated according to the raw material used in the process – iron ore-based (Blast Furnace based production, BF) or scrap-based from recycled steel (Electric Arc Furnace based production, EAF). Since availablescrap today accounts for approximately 30% of the demand for new steel, we are today dependent on both steel produced from scrap and steel made from iron-ore. In 2050, it is estimated scrap-based steel will account for about 50% of demand, which means that 50% of demand will continue to be met by steel made from iron-ore.
Steel production is resource intensive and generates carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Around 90% of SSAB’s direct CO2 emissions are generated by iron ore-based steel production at our sites in Luleå, Oxelösund and Raahe, in particular our blast furnaces. SSAB’s operations account for 10% of Sweden’s and 7% of Finland’s CO2 emissions. However, SSAB’s blast furnace-based production is among the most CO2 efficient in the world owing to the use of high-grade iron-ore pellet and, high-quality coke, as well as efficient and uninterrupted processes. For example, our cold-rolled steel production emits approximately 6% less CO2e than the European average and as much as 17% less than the Chinese average (see the chart above).
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’.
Lower is better
Higher is better
* Values are valid for production in Sweden/Finland.
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.
ton CO2e/ton
* 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.
EPD stands for Environmental Product Declaration, which is an independently verified document that provides transparent, comparable information about the environmental impact of products from the lifecycle perspective. SSAB EPDs comply with international standards, which provides objective data highlighting the low carbon footprint of SSAB products. This is also a good tool for SSAB customers wanting to minimize their environmental impact. EPDs report values from the entire product lifecycle. This means that emissions from suppliers are included as well as all energy used in manufacturing the product. EPDs are available for all SSAB products and are registered in the International EPD® system. SSAB’s EPDs are available here.
The EcoSmart™ program, first launched in 2016, is SSAB Americas' innovative customer awareness program designed to showcase the organization's commitment to sustainability. The EcoSmart program emphasizes both the key product and process attributes of steel produced by SSAB Americas. More than 50 customer companies are part of the EcoSmart program, with more to come in 2021 and beyond. Here are some key points related to SSAB Americas’ products and production process:
