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ArcelorMittal strives to make steel production more sustainable and to minimise its environmental impact. As a leader in steel manufacturing, we are committed to making steel production more sustainable at every stage. In addition, 95% of our steel industrial operations now have ISO 14001 certification, an international standard for environmental management systems.
- Our approach to Granite® is part of ArcelorMittal Flat Carbon Europe’s Nspired by Nature range, and it is certified as a product not containing hexavalent chromium or heavy metals.
- R2P - Ready to Paint coating on thin gauge, the cold rolled product, is an efficient solution to reduce environmental impact at customer plants; for example, for door production.
- Insulated sandwich panels are contributing to energy efficiency in the most demanding buildings such as cold rooms for the food industry and supermarkets.
“Safe Sustainable Steel” makes up the core values of ArcelorMittal. As such, our innovative products and solutions for construction are continuously contributing to the reduction of environmental impacts on buildings throughout their life.
Environmental impacts
In 2012, the EU-28’s construction sector accounted for:
- 40% of the total final energy consumption
- 40% of CO2 Emission
- 30% of consumption of natural resources
- 30% of waste generation
- 20% of water consumption
Consequently, the EU commission has started to adapt the EU directive regarding environmental assessment - the EIA Directive.
Useful information
MoreAccording to the European Commission, "The newly amended Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive (2014/52/EU) entered into force on 15 May 2014 to simplify the rules for assessing the potential effects of projects on the environment. Member States have to apply these rules as from 16 May 2017 at the latest." (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/review.htm)
The Holistic Environmental Impact assessment for buildings is defined by European Standard EN 15978 in the scope of CEN TC 350 work programme. It takes into account the full life cycle of the building, including end of life, recycling after demolition, and energy production at the building level.
Related news & technical articles
Norway’s oldest steel distributor buys XCarb® recycled and renewably produced
27 January 2022Norsk Stål, Norway’s oldest steel and metal distributor, has decided to stock ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel beams.
Industry newsArcelorMittal plates build Mexico’s biggest refinery
14 December 2021The Dos Bocas refining complex is currently under construction in Tabasco, Mexico. When completed, the refinery will produce 340 000 barrels per day and will become the biggest refinery in Mexico. Industeel provided close to 6000 tonnes of special steels for the project.
Project newsLife Cycle Assessment of a quay wall: building sustainable ports
Conscious of the importance of reducing the carbon footprint in civil engineering by supplying durable products with reduced environmental impacts, ArcelorMittal is looking into the eco-design of its product range of steel sheet piles. In 2019, ArcelorMittal assigned a Belgian engineering firm with the task of designing and comparing technical and financial aspects of three different alternatives to build a 200-metre-long quay wall for a new cruise ship terminal in a Belgian port. The new brochure, Sustainable Ports – Life Cycle Assessment, focusses on the environmental impact of the two most cost-effective solutions resulting from this study and on their Global Warming Potential (GWP).
ArticleNew! EPD for XCarb® Recycled and renewably produced Reinforcing steel in bars
15 November 2021ArcelorMittal Europe - Long Products has released a new EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) for XCarb® Recycled and renewably produced Reinforcing steel in bars.
Product news
Norway’s oldest steel distributor buys XCarb® recycled and renewably produced
Norsk Stål, Norway’s oldest steel and metal distributor, has decided to stock ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel beams.
Sustainable and efficient stockholding with XCarb® recycled and renewably produced beams
Norsk Stål supplies the offshore, shipbuilding, construction, and mechanical industry markets and has a vision to continuously develop and provide ‘sustainable and efficient stockholding’ as well as recognising the importance of steel in the development of a sustainable society. Buying XCarb® recycled and renewably produced beams was therefore a natural decision for the Norwegian distributor to contribute to the company’s and country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, while also being able to offer customers low-carbon products.
Ambitious climate goals & competitive advantages
Speaking about the purchase of XCarb® products, Leif G. Hübert, Director of Supply Chain Norsk Stål, said:
“As an almost 200-year old company, we must continuously be at the forefront of new developments in the market, so stocking ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel beams was a natural choice for us. Our role, as a large player in our market, is to offer our customers the best that is out there. If we are to succeed in meeting our ambitious climate goals, we all must participate the best way we can. Not only does responsible buying have a positive impact on the environment, it also makes our customers more competitive, as many consumers value sustainability when purchasing goods.”
Stefan Deheyder, CMO Sections and Merchant Bars at ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products, said:
“We are very pleased to be working with Norsk Stål, to provide them with XCarb® recycled and renewably produced products, supporting their sustainability vision as well as enabling customers to decarbonise their supply chain. Norway has an ambitious climate policy that is helping to create a strong market for low-carbon products in the country, particularly in the public construction sector, and we are therefore delighted to have our first Norwegian XCarb® customer."
An increasing demand for sustainable steel
There is a growing demand for low emission steel throughout Scandinavia, and with its GWP at just 333 kg CO2e per ton of sections and merchant bars, XCarb® recycled and renewably produced is the first product to offer a guarantee of up to 100 per cent recycled scrap steel and 100 per cent renewable electricity coming from solar and wind projects.
XCarb®, launched by ArcelorMittal in March 2021, is an initiative which brings together all of ArcelorMittal’s reduced-, low-, and zero-carbon products and steelmaking activities. In addition to XCarb® recycled and renewably produced, ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® initiatives also include XCarb® green steel certificates, which are specifically designed for ArcelorMittal’s steel products made from iron ore in a blast furnace. They are based on real CO2 savings achieved through these practical activities as well as wider initiatives that reduce ArcelorMittal’s carbon footprint and projects aimed at green innovation. The savings are independently assured by DNV GL.
Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe - Long Products
Images:
Norsk Stål
ArcelorMittal
Related link(s)
ArcelorMittal plates build Mexico’s biggest refinery
The Dos Bocas refining complex is currently under construction in Tabasco, Mexico. When completed, the refinery will produce 340 000 barrels per day and will become the biggest refinery in Mexico. Industeel provided close to 6000 tonnes of special steels for the project.
Enhancing Mexico's energy independence
Initiated in 2019 by state-owned oil and gas company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), this 8bn USD project is part of Mexico's National Refining Plan that aims at reducing its reliance on fuel imports from the US. The plant will produce 340 000 barrels per day (bpd), including 170 000 bpd of petrol and 120 000 bpd of ultra-low sulphur diesel. The Dos Bocas refinery will have 17 processing plants and 93 tanks and spherical pressure vessels, as well as an autonomous power generation system.
ArcelorMittal recycled steel plates used in phase II
Industeel has already supplied close to 6000 tonnes of steel plates to fabricators designated by Samsung Engineering in partnership with Mexico-based Asociados Constructores, ICA Fluor, and Mexicana de Recipientes a Presión, working with KBR and Constructora Hostotipaquillo. Industeel supplied various types of clad, alloyed, and stainless plates, produced in its mills in Charleroi, Belgium and Le Creusot and Chateauneuf, France via the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) route - a low-emission steelmaking process that uses high-power electric arcs to melt recyclable steel scrap.
Industeel plates will be used to build hydroprocessing reactors, distillation columns, fractionators and absorbers, fluid catalytic cracking units, separators, processing pipes, etc. This equipment is part of the second phase of the project, which amounts to 3.6 bn USD and consists of six packages in total, including the construction of a mixed plant and delayed coking plant, a diesel hydrodesulfurization (DHDT) unit, a gasoil hydrodesulfurization (HDS) unit, a naphtha hydro-treating (NHT) unit and a naphtha reformer, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), amines regenerators, and a gas treatment plant, as well as a hydrogen production plant.
Works are ongoing with completion expected in 2022.
Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia
Images:
ArcelorMittal
Video:
Secretaría de Energía
Related link(s)
Life Cycle Assessment of a quay wall: building sustainable ports
Conscious of the importance of reducing the carbon footprint in civil engineering by supplying durable products with reduced environmental impacts, ArcelorMittal is looking into the eco-design of its product range of steel sheet piles. In 2019, ArcelorMittal assigned a Belgian engineering firm with the task of designing and comparing technical and financial aspects of three different alternatives to build a 200-metre-long quay wall for a new cruise ship terminal in a Belgian port. The new brochure, Sustainable Ports – Life Cycle Assessment, focusses on the environmental impact of the two most cost-effective solutions resulting from this study and on their Global Warming Potential (GWP).
Port structures: status quo and future needs
Ports have been faced with quite a number of challenges in recent years. On the one hand, sea traffic has steadily increased and modern vessels are getting bigger. On the other hand, our planet is struggling with greenhouse gas emissions. Ports need to expand with new berths being built, but how can we achieve these goals without harming the environment?
Before building a new structure, examining the possibility of extending the service life of existing structures makes sense. This is the best option from an environmental point of view, but older structures typically require retrofitting. Hence, only an economic and environmental analysis can help the owner make an informed decision. When it comes to increasing the dredge level to welcome vessels with higher drafts or when existing structures are close to failure, building a new quay wall may be the sole viable option.
Identifying the most efficient solutions for a modern quay wall
ArcelorMittal appointed Tractebel, an independent Belgian consulting engineering firm, to analyse this multifaceted topic. The engineers proposed focussing on three key indicators: technical, financial, and environmental criteria. Their task consisted of comparing three different technical solutions for those indicators. The selected structure for analysis was a cruise ship terminal capable of accommodating the largest cruise ships. It would be built in a Belgian port, with a draught of 13 m in typical soil and load conditions for a Belgian port.
This brochure focuses on the environmental impact of the two most cost-effective solutions resulting from this study - a steel sheet pile wall and a concrete diaphragm wall - and on their Global Warming Potential (GWP).
Life Cycle Analysis and Global Warming Potential as sustainability indicators
The Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of the two most cost-efficient solutions was based on the bill of quantities prepared by Tractebel, performed by ArcelorMittal’s R&D department, and peer-reviewed by an independent panel of experts.
The objective was to compare the Total Life Cycle Cost of the steel sheet pile and the concrete diaphragm solutions, including the burdens or benefits of the end-of-life phase (the dismantling and recycling of the building elements without considering reuse).
For this type of application, an LCA is a reasonably fair and transparent method to compare different solutions and suppliers. Although not required by ISO and EN standards, an LCA is more accurate and realistic when it uses specific Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) from the producers rather than generic data from databases.
Construction cost (including design) was chosen as the principal key indicator for the choice of solution. The key environmental indicator analysed in this case was the carbon footprint expressed as the GWP. Its impact for the base scenario is summarised in the graph for a 200-metre-long wall. This indicator can be included in a scheme to choose the most sustainable solution, referring to the most economically advantageous tender.
The winner is…the EcoSheetPile™ solution!
In this study for the construction of a 200-metre-long quay wall, the steel sheet pile wall made with EcoSheetPile™ (sheet piles produced from 100% recycled steel in an Electric Arc Furnace) offers a 44% lower carbon footprint compared to the diaphragm wall. This corresponds to a saving of 559 tonnes of CO2-eq.
In its quest to further improve the eco-design of steel sheet piles, ArcelorMittal uses renewable energy in the secondary production route (Electric Arc Furnace), thus further reducing the GWP by around 30% (based on the EcoSheetPile™ Plus EPD).
The EcoSheetPile™ Plus range is part of ArcelorMittal's 'XCarb® Recycled and renewably produced' brand.
Download the brochure to learn more about the goals, scope and assumptions, methodology, detailed results, sensibility analysis, conclusions, and limitations of this study.
Text:
ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling
Constructalia
Images:
Courtesy of Port of Rønne
ArcelorMittal Sheet Piling
Related link(s)
New! EPD for XCarb® Recycled and renewably produced Reinforcing steel in bars
ArcelorMittal Europe - Long Products has released a new EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) for XCarb® Recycled and renewably produced Reinforcing steel in bars.
This declaration refers to XCarb® Recycled and renewably produced Reinforcing steel in bars for the building industry based on steel production in an Electric Arc Furnace with a renewable electricity supply with Guarantee of Origins. It is certified by IBU (Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V.) according to standards ISO 14025 and EN 15804.
Rebar (Reinforcing steel in bars, including standard rebars, special rebars – Krybar®, rock bolt, and tie bars - and threaded bars) covers carbon steel for geotechnical use and the reinforcement of concrete. Typical applications include the construction of buildings, bridges, roads, and other civil works (infrastructures, superstructures, etc.).
You can download this new EPD - and others - from our Document library.
Related link(s)
EPD for XCarb® Recycled and renewably produced Reinforcing steel in bars