en.Wedoany.com Reported - A Nordic report reveals that companies purchasing steel have significant opportunities to accelerate the transition to low-emission production. The "Sustainable Steel Scoreboard" assessed 15 Nordic companies with substantial steel consumption, finding that if all firms adopted procurement practices already implemented by industry leaders, demand for low-carbon steel could triple.
Currently, the assessed companies meet only 23% of the requirements needed to align with the Paris Climate Agreement targets. If best practices were fully adopted, this figure could rise to 83%. The report emphasizes that steel buyers play a crucial role in driving the transition to low-emission production, as they can send clear signals to suppliers through procurement requirements, creating demand that justifies investments in near-zero emission steel production.
Global progress in sustainable steel production has largely stalled over the past two years. The report suggests that Nordic companies are uniquely positioned to influence the pace of change by strengthening sustainability requirements across the entire supply chain. If all 15 assessed companies adopted the most ambitious procurement practices, investments in low-carbon steel production in the Nordic region could increase significantly, while enhancing the competitive position of Nordic steel producers.
Low-carbon and fossil-free steel is produced using technologies that reduce or eliminate reliance on coal in the steelmaking process. Several Nordic initiatives, including Sweden's investments in iron ore hydrogen-based direct reduction, have attracted international attention as potential pathways to cleaner steel production. However, output remains limited, and costs are still significantly higher than conventional steel, meaning that demand from industrial buyers will play a decisive role in determining the commercial viability and speed of widespread adoption of low-carbon steel.
This year's report covers the entire Nordic region for the first time, rather than just Finland, raising the average score from 13% to 25%. In sustainable steel procurement, Swedish and Danish companies generally outperform their Finnish counterparts. Topping the ranking is Swedish bearing manufacturer SKF, which scored 65% in the responsible steel procurement category, cited as an example of industrial buyers leveraging purchasing power to drive supply chain change. A perfect score would mean full alignment with the Paris Agreement, while also meeting environmental standards related to air pollution, water use, and deforestation, including a commitment to procure near-zero emission steel by 2040 and requiring suppliers to set science-based climate targets.
Among Finnish companies, Valmet achieved the best result, with its score rising from 17% to 32%, placing it fifth. Kone performed significantly worse, scoring only 11%. In the broader category measuring overall sustainability performance, Metso ranked highest among Finnish companies. The findings indicate that Finnish and Norwegian companies are still addressing sustainability challenges at a general level, while Swedish and Danish companies are increasingly focusing on steel procurement and supply chain emissions.
Home appliance manufacturer Electrolux scored 22% in the sustainable steel procurement category, close to the average, but received the lowest score in the broader sustainability assessment. According to the report's authors, this may reflect that consumers remain primarily focused on product energy efficiency rather than the environmental impact of the materials used in manufacturing. As a result, market pressure on appliance manufacturers and other consumer goods producers to increase the use of low-carbon steel remains limited.
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