[ COVER STORY ]
Partnership is power
In the beginning , Outokumpu received a lot of feedback from stakeholders who claimed that there is still some time to get involved with CO 2 -reduced materials . Nevertheless , their team remained undeterred in trying to find partners who believed the company was on the right track . Across various industries and countries , they have found partners who claimed they wanted to be part of the journey now , and not when the train has left the station , as Dr . Menzel phrased it .
“ Cultivating strong partnerships with a diverse range of customers enabled our plans to come to fruition rather sooner than expected , something we are extremely pleased with . For instance , our recent partnership with Fissler supports our mutual mission to build things that last and to show the direction of reducing emissions from the appliance industry . The same can be said for our partnership with ZWILLING and Stahl Krebs , aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of knives . By collaborating with Siemens to decarbonise the production of medium-voltage switchgear , we are supporting the green energy transition ,” Dr . Menzel observed . So far , Outokumpu ’ s partnerships cover a wide range of industries : the automotive , heating and energy industries , steel processors and steel distributors , to name a few .
Dr . Max Menzel , Head of Sustainability and Technical Customer Service at Outokumpu .
Inner Circle : creating value with circularity
Dr . Menzel described Outokumpu ’ s current achievement as very satisfying but targets stay ambitious . The goal is to grow the production and reach a yearly capacity of 100,000 tonnes rather soon . Among other raw materials , scrap or recirculated raw materials play a crucial role in the decarbonisation .
The Inner Circle is the latest commercial sustainability initiative launched by Outokumpu with the aim to foster circularity with both suppliers and customers . “ As an electric arc furnace-based producer , we predominantly use scrap as raw material . With an industry-leading 94 % recycled material content , Outokumpu is already at the centre of the circular economy . With the Inner Circle , our suppliers and customers are invited to actively participate in this circle . We do have six supplier partners that are now officially part of our Inner Circle network which enables our customers to actively provide their material waste to one of the Inner Circle members , which will find its way back into the European circular economy . Thus , closing the loop and making circularity tangible ,” Dr . Menzel explained .
A team effort
Green transition is always a lengthy process . We have asked Dr . Menzel what the company owes its success to . At Outokumpu , they believe that sustainability and stainless steel go hand in hand , making this industry a unique ground to work on . “ A stainless steel pot that was produced yesterday will most likely still be there in 100 years with the same properties it has today ,” he commented .
That being said , he highlighted that Outokumpu ’ s team has been
8 Green Steel World | Issue 10 | February 2024