Mr Mellor said that “with over 90% of global steel production now originating from countries with strong decarbonisation targets, the demand for low carbon materials has never been greater. As metal recyclers, we are perfectly positioned as key enablers of this transition, but our impact must be demonstrated with robust credible data, data that not only quantifies our environmental footprint but also the transformative value of recycled metal in producing true green steel.”
A key rationale for the study, compiled with consultancy KPMG, is to have a wider set of arguments and data for the sector to use when faced by regulators and critics. Daniel Pietikainen, BIR’s Trade and Environment Policy Officer, claimed that the study’s findings would help in arguments against “unjustified policies that are being introduced”. He described the study – The Environmental Benefits of Recycling – as “groundbreaking”. It was needed “to show the positive value created not just economically but also in terms of the environment. This information delivered to the right people, the right policymakers at the right time can result in positive regulatory changes for all of our businesses.”
Mr Pietikainen continued: “The data is definitely pointing in a specific direction… we can see that the industry is already fuelling massive environmental savings annually.” Outlining the savings from using recycled steel, he said that carbon savings were equivalent to the emissions of large countries; the energy consumption saved equated to hundreds of millions of households per year; water savings were of trillions of litres of water (millions of swimming pools); and thousands of square kilometres of land was being saved.
Professor Dr Frank Pothen of the University of Applied Sciences in Jena, Germany (DEU) also looked at the new BIR study on the benefits of recycled steel. He noted: “Using recycled steel brings us immense ecological benefits… The new study will help you communicate this and you will know what is happening beyond the borders of your business.”
Presentations were followed by a Q&A session moderated by George Adams, CEO and President of SA Recycling (USA).
The first question asked was “What had surprised Mr Pietikainen most from the new report?” He responded that it would have to be the fact that the report “had magnitudes and images that people would be able to visualise. We’re going to have a bigger toolkit at our disposal.” Mr Adams raised the effect of these environmental findings with Denis Reuter COO TSR Group GmbH & Co (DEU). Mr Reuter said that there had been a real change in the discussion around emissions with company finance officers now taking a close look in the light of emission trading costs.
On market dynamics and recycled steel availability, Mr Adams asked panel member Atilla Widnell of Navigate Commodities (GBR) for his thoughts. In the crude steel sector, Mr Widnell said that many mills were “in survival mode” and some decarbonisation plans “had been shelved for the time being.”
Tariffs were also discussed by the panel. Michael Gaylard, Sims Metal’s Global Head of Ferrous Trade (USA) spoke of the challenges of planning for shipments in light of the latest tariff date changes. He said that despite the latest delay on tariffs to be imposed on Europe by the US government until July 9, “there is nothing you can really do planning wise”. Mr Gaylard also touched on AI and how Asian customers were in particular looking at how it can be used in the container sector, although there are operational challenges with small yards in relation to the amount of containers passing through on a daily basis. He noted: “There are multiple steel mills that are working on this at the moment and have been for some time.”
