[ COVER STORY ]
beginning – the same cold rolling mills , furnaces and melt shop .
“ What we put ‘ into ’ the process is the only part that has changed . We have a special raw material selection specifically for this product . In addition , reinventing our process , for instance , switching to biogas and biofuel enabled us to reduce the CO 2 footprint of certain products by a minimum of 50 % compared to our regular products which is a staggering 93 % lower than the industry average in stainless steel ,” Dr . Menzel explained .
Data availability
It is worth noting that Outokumpu ’ s methodology extends beyond offering mere numbers . “ At the end of the day , sustainability is a data game because the material we are producing does not offer any unique properties such as higher strength or higher corrosion resistance . What has changed is the data we provide to the market . However , the most crucial factors for this are transparency and verification by independent sources ,” he emphasized . “ Here I would like to highlight that Outokumpu is the only stainless steel producer that provides the specific CO 2 footprint on the delivery certificates for nearly all of its products in Europe . Our data is updated monthly , and we are witnessing a downward trend meaning that we are doing our homework on decarbonisation ,” he pointed out .
He stated that even though unclarity may seem to rule the world of low-carbon steel , Outokumpu decided to take a different standpoint and make public scopes 1 , 2 and 3 , thus providing the necessary information for customers to make informed decisions . “ From our perspective , green steel is already conquering the market . But we need to be extremely
One of Outokumpu ’ s recent partnerships with Fissler supports their mutual mission to build things that last and to show the direction of reducing emissions from the appliance industry . sharp on how to justify the value of those products . This can only be successful if we provide credibility through accurate verified data which makes decarbonisation tangible and provides more than a nice marketing story . By putting transparency first , we continue to demonstrate our commitment to reducing emissions . Moreover , we do not employ mass balancing techniques which in general are very difficult to justify for credible decarbonised products ,” he stressed .
“ The latest milestone for Outokumpu was the validation by TÜV Süd according to DIN EN ISO 14067 that we received in November 2023 . Being certified by such a well-known authority , especially in the European market , confirmed that we have achieved what was our primary mission from the start . And that is , giving as much credibility as possible to the CO 2 figures of our products , which , of course , then enables us to have even higher ambitions and better green value propositions for the products that we have been putting on the market for some time now ,” Dr . Menzel elucidated and continued , “ Winning the Microsoft Intelligent Manufacturing Award for the product carbon footprint algorithm last year further confirmed that Outokumpu is truly setting a new standard for steel production .”
Green Steel World | Issue 10 | February 2024 7