Orsted & Climate Group Host Inaugural SteelZero Summit in Denmark
Strategic Research Institute
Published on :
07 Jun, 2022, 6:30 am
SteelZero initiative’s founding member Orsted has teamed up with a global coalition of corporate first-movers to set out steps governments must take to support the steel industry in its drive to achieve net-zero emissions. With the new SteelZero policy principles paper, the coalition wants to help policymakers speed up the transition to decarbonised steel, which is critical to unlocking net-zero supply chains and meeting global climate goals. On 31 May, Ørsted and Climate Group hosted the inaugural SteelZero summit, which explored policy solutions to decarbonise the steel sector, which represents 8 % of global CO2 emissions, and grow the net-zero carbon steel platform. Hosted at Ørsted’s headquarters in Copenhagen in Denmark, the summit was the first SteelZero event since the platform’s launch in 2020. With less than ten years to halve global emissions in line with the 1.5 °C pathway, decarbonising steelmaking is a critical part of the journey.
As a growing net-zero steel ‘buyers’ club’, the power of SteelZero lies in its cross-sectoral and global nature. Steel decabonisation is a challenge no single company can overcome on its own. But when working together, companies can build collaborative frameworks to drive the demand and push for the right market and investment frameworks that will enable businesses worldwide to speed up the transition to net-zero steel.
The SteelZero summit hosted over 100 participants, with speakers representing European, US, and Chinese companies. As part of ongoing efforts to grow the demand-side coalition, over 30 companies representing sectors including renewables, construction, and automotive that aren’t yet members of the coalition also joined the summit at a working level.
At the summit, members of the SteelZero platform agreed to continue to grow the demand-side action towards its 2030 and 2050 goals. As part of the SteelZero platform, members make public commitments to procure 50 % of their steel by 2030 from any combination of the following: a company with a validated science-based target, a site certified by ResponsibleSteel, or low-embodied carbon steel.
Members also commit to procuring 100 % net-zero steel by 2050. As a global renewable energy company that seeks to minimise its carbon footprint, including across its supply chain, Ørsted has committed to procuring 100 % net-zero steel ahead of schedule – by 2040 – in alignment with its science-based net-zero target for scope 1-3 emissions. To unlock net-zero supply chains that will enable the sustainable build-out of renewable energy in the future, Ørsted is working to both procure green steel and help power the green steel transition by producing green hydrogen needed in steel manufacturing.