How Steel and Sustainability Come Together

The World Steel Association (worldsteel) today announced the launch of a new publication ‘Steel in the circular economy – A life cycle perspective’. It examines the critical role of steel in delivering true sustainability to our society and calls for a global rethink of regulations in all market sectors across every region. This publication demonstrates how steel enables a sustainable society, through a circular economy, when the full life cycle of steel products is taken into account. It highlights the need for legislators and industry decision makers to take a full life cycle approach before making legislative or manufacturing material decisions. It contains case studies from around the world that show how this is being carried out on a practical basis.

Edwin Basson, Director General at worldsteel commented on the launch: “In a world of finite resources we must leave the outdated ‘take, make, consume and dispose’ mentality behind and move toward a circular economy model for optimal resource efficiency. To achieve this we need a life cycle approach that measures the social, economic and environmental impact of a product at each stage in its life cycle. We believe that life cycle thinking must become a key requirement for all manufacturing decisions going forward.”

“The steel industry is an integral part of the circular economy model. A circular economy promotes zero waste, a reduction in the amount of materials used, and encourages the reuse and recycling of materials. These are all fundamental advantages of using steel. Therefore, in a well-structured circular economy, steel has competitive advantages over other materials.”

• Reducing thickness of steel for packaging has positive environmental impact over its life cycle
• Life cycle thinking leads to intelligent automotive material choices
• Using LCA to calculate energy payback for wind turbines
• LCA in the eco-design of office building

If you are interested in life cycle thinking case studies listed above, read more about the ‘Steel in the Circular Economy’ from worldsteel’s online bookshop. There are many more cases of a life cycle thinking approach in the publication!

[box]The World Steel Association (worldsteel) is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world. worldsteel represents approximately 170 steel producers (including 9 of the world’s 10 largest steel companies), national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. worldsteel members represent around 85% of world steel production.[/box]