[ Cover Story ]
Outokumpu Circle Green has the smallest emission intensity in the world , with up to 92 % lower carbon footprint than the global average
Max Menzel : “ There is a need to educate and communicate with every link in the supply chain .” need to work on your sustainability . Eventually , there will be sustainability requirements for all links in the supply chain , and if a supplier cannot meet those , we will not purchase from them even if they have the lowest price .”
Outokumpu Circle Green Max is keen to tell us more about Outokoumpu ’ s revolutionary emissionminimised stainless steel , Circle Green . “ Circle Green has the smallest emission intensity in the world , with up to 92 % lower carbon footprint than the global average and up to 64 % lower than Outokumpu ’ s regular production . No other manufacturer is able to produce flat stainless steel products with such low emission levels .” The unprecedented emission reduction was achieved with improvements throughout the whole stainless steel production chain . Reductions in upstream raw material emissions were key to this success as they contribute the majority of stainless steel ’ s total carbon footprint . Meticulous production and quality optimisation have led to higher energy efficiency . Biogas , biodiesel , biocoke , and low-carbon electricity have been used in production to eliminate 95 % of all scope 1 and 2 CO 2 emissions . While these bio-based materials have all been tested previously in production , they were used together for the first time to produce Outokumpu Circle Green . “ In this first phase , we will concentrate our efforts on serving a few strategic
customers , but we are ready and able to scale up the production . Circle Green has generated a lot of excitement within the company ; the whole organisation is engaged ,” Max enthuses . “ We promise our customers when they select Circle Green that we are cutting the CO 2 emissions against our conventional offerings by at least 50 %. This makes it very tangible what is possible for CO 2 management . If they pick us over other suppliers , the percentage is even higher !” The first batch of Circle Green was delivered to Fiskars Group , a leading company producing design-driven
indoor and outdoor living brands , for use in cookware products . “ We already see significant demand for Circle Green in this sector ,” explains Max . “ These products are highly visible and tangible for consumers . The consumer goods market is one of the biggest consumers of stainless steel globally , so using sustainably produced steel will have an enormous impact . After all , we all own a washing machine and pots and pans . In the homeware store , it ’ s easy to identify pots labelled as being made from the most sustainable stainless steel .” “ Another key future market will be the automotive industry , which is pushing its
The first batch of Circle Green was delivered to Fiskars Group for use in cookware products .
10 Stainless Steel World March 2023 www . stainless-steel-world . net