FOCUS ON MATERIALS
switching to water-based coatings . Its latest step is to explore possibilities from the latest developments in sustainable stainless steel .
Sven Ullrich continued : “ We want to close the circularity loop by encouraging our customers to recycle their products with us . Of course , our pots last virtually forever but pans do wear out eventually . So , customers can
Fissler cookware on pallets . bring them into our shops for recycling and get a discount on a new pan . Furthermore , we want people to know that our products are sustainable in use . Stainless steel heats up quickly and retains heat very well , so it saves energy . When they use a pressure cooker , the energy savings can be up to 70 %.”
Circle Green for sustainable stainless steel
Stainless steel is well placed to contribute to the circular economy because it is sustainable , 100 % recyclable , long-lasting and resourceefficient . Outokumpu ’ s mission has been to build on this strong foundation to create stainless steel that is even more sustainable than the norm .
“ For example , our high utilisation of recycled materials ( over 90 %) is one of the key factors in reaching lower CO₂ emissions since it helps us to minimise emissions originating from raw material use ,” the Finnish materials specialist explained .
“ We are also the only major stainless-steel producer with its own chromium mine and ferrochrome production equipped with the latest technology ; this is important since chromium is an essential alloying element in the manufacture of stainless steel . Our ferrochrome raw material has a very low carbon footprint which is only 42 % of the industry average . Our goal is to achieve carbon neutrality at our Kemi chrome mine by 2025 ,” it added .
This will be done by utilising carbon-free electricity , using biofuels in transportation and machinery replacing natural gas and propane gas with biogas in heating as well as mining machinery electrification to reduce the need for fuels . As a first step , the mine is now switching to renewable biofuels which means that 30 % of Outokumpu ’ s overall target has now been reached .
“ With the development of Circle Green , we have achieved a world first that represents a significant step on the road to zero-carbon stainless steel . Currently , no other stainlesssteel manufacturer has been able to produce stainless steel with such low emission levels when taking into account all the climate emissions through the entire production chain ( scopes 1 , 2 and 3 ). It has the lowest carbon footprint in the industry — a reduction of up to 93 %* when compared to the industry
Sebastian Hahn , Global Head of Brand and Marketing , Fissler .
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