Swiss Steel credits scrap for low carbon footprint

Switzerland-based Swiss Steel Holding AG says a CO₂ emissions audit of its global operations will further enhance its sustainability rating and cites its use of scrap metal feedstock as a core part of its sustainability commitment.

The audit, which reviewed operations in 2021, was conducted by Germany-based DNV Business Assurance Germany GmbH and examined Swiss Steel melt shops and facilities in several nations. In North America, Swiss Steel owns the Finkl Steel plant in Chicago and Finkl Steel-Sorel in Quebec.

Finkl Steel says it produces “high-quality steel [that] starts with strictly controlled scrap metal,” which is melted using electric arc furnaces (EAFs) in Chicago and in Sorel, Quebec. “An additional melting process, called vacuum arc remelting, produces premium quality material for the strictest applications,” Finkl adds, referring to its production of die blocks, bars and custom forgings used in aerospace markets.

In addition to the Finkl sites in North America, audits also were conducted at Swiss Steel’s Ascometal plants in Fos-sur-Mer and Hagondange, France; its Deutsche Edelstahlwerke facilities in Hagen, Krefeld, Siegen and Witten, Germany; the Steeltec mill in Emmenbrücke, Switzerland; and at Ugitech facilities in Ugine and Imphy, France, and Milan, Italy.

“Sustainable steelmaking is in the DNA of Swiss Steel Group, which is strongly committed to decarbonization and green steel,” Swiss Steel Group CEO Frank Koch says. “The audit statement now available from DNV Business Assurance Germany GmbH will further enhance our sustainability rating, transparency and credibility as a leader in green steel and will already help the group to meet the new legal reporting requirements in the future.”

Referring to itself as Europe’s largest EAF steelmaker, Swiss Steel Group says EAF producers use a technique that is up to 80 percent better than producers on the blast furnace route in terms of CO₂ emissions. "This is a good starting position on the way to market leadership, but it is by no means enough for the internationally active group," the company says.

The company says it operates exclusively on the basis of scrap. “This massively reduces the CO₂ footprint compared with the traditional production of steel based on iron ore and coke," Swiss Steel adds. "The higher the scrap input, the more ecological the resulting steel. This is an important prerequisite for the production of “green steel.’”

Swiss Steel Group says it also has launched a campaign called Green Steel, which it describes as going on the offensive for low-CO₂ steel. The company says Green Steel is both a tool to help reduce the emissions of the entire group step by step and systematically and is intended to support the customers and partners of the Swiss Steel Group in reducing their Scope 3 emissions and to encourage them to do more for climate protection.

A document summarizing the Swiss Steel DNV Business Assurance Germany GmbH audit can be found here.