Stainless Steel Industry ESG Thematic Report, 2023

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in the Stainless Steel Industry

The policies that impact environment, social, governance, which involves the companies, consumers, and the governments, are shaping the current trend in the investments in unprecedented manner.

Stainless Steel industry products have a wide range of applications ranging from production to essential components of a final consumer product. Companies in the market are striving to make a change in terms of environment in the sphere of ESG, by implementing eco-friendly policies and methods in the manufacturing of this products.

The industry leaders of the market are becoming aware of the negative impacts caused due to the process involved in the manufacturing of the stainless-steel products on the environment, they have taken steps.

ESG Trends

Despite the key policies and methods introduced by the major players of the market, the challenge for companies is in terms of environment. One such challenge is material sourcing.

The stainless steel is an alloy with composition of iron, nickel, and other similar metals. These metals are mined out from the core of the earth. There are different dimensions of the mining process that adversely impact the environment at different levels. In this way, companies in the stainless-steel market have a significant impact on biodiversity and directly create a negative impact in terms of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 15: Life on Land.

The pollution caused by the heavy machinery, where the emissions that come out contain toxic levels of nitrous oxide,carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide cause air pollution. The mining waste that goes into the water bodies causes water pollution, since the mining involves the extraction of the iron ore, thereby acidic drainage is caused. These acids remain in the water for years even after stopping the mining process.

The next challenge lies ahead is the production process, where the iron is heated by using huge amounts of coke, where the by-products are naphthalene, which is emitted through the coke furnace, polluting the air. This directly creates a negative impact on the climate and necessitates action from companies in this sector according to SDG 13: Climate Action.

The water used for cooling down the alloy produced is turned into wastewater, which in turns causes water pollution, since toxic chemicals such as cyanide, sulfides, ammonia, and ammonium are produced and released during the process. The mentioned substances are considered to be carcinogenic.

A report states that at least 1.83 tons of carbon dioxide is emitted per ton of steel produced, on an average an amount of 3.3 million tons of carbon dioxide, greenhouse gas is produced, making the stainless steel industry one of the significant contributors of global warming.

鉴于上述原因,majority of the key players are shifting towards implementing sustainable production policies and methods. Majority of the key leading players in the market, inducted and implemented the process of recycling the steel, thereby reducing the carbon footprint, and helping in conservation, since steel is considered to be a very healthy and sustainable material, hence can be recycled an infinite number of times.

Growth of the Stainless Steel Market

As of 2021, the stainless steel market was economically valued at USD 104.23 billion at global scale and is estimated to expand at a CAGR i.e., compound annual growth rate of 8.9% from 2022 to 2030. Infrastructural development is one of the key factors that drive the market. Since stainless steel is branded as a sustainable material as it can be recycled and reused an indefinite number of times, the stainless-steel market, due to the applicability of the product in the various sectors such as automotive and construction industries, a surge in demand is expected. This creates a positive impact on the UN SDG 12: responsible production and consumption.

Key Companies in this theme:

• Jindal Stainless Steel Limited

• Nippon Steel limited

• Aperam Stainless

• ArcelorMittal

Scope of the Stainless-Steel Industry ESG Thematic Report:

• Macro-economic and ESG-variable analysis of the industry, including regulatory, policy, and innovation landscape

• Key insights on infrastructure developments and ESG issues affecting the theme

• Identify key initiatives and challenges within the industry

• Identify ESG leaders within the industry

• Understand key initiatives and the impact of companies within the sector to fuel an informed decision-making process

• Analysis of industry activities based on multi-media sources, including significant controversies and market sentiment

Key Aspects the Stainless Steel Industry ESG Thematic Report:

• Offers a global perspective of the stainless-steel industry and the policies and measures taken by the players, for overcoming the challenges faced in terms of Environment, Social and Governance.

• Key insights into the sustainability practices of major players in the market.