[ Sustainabilty ]
[ Sustainabilty ]
Uniting customers and scrap suppliers
Outokumpu has launched a new circularity initiative , Inner Circle , to strengthen the circular economy in Europe .
Text & image by Outokumpu
The Inner Circle initiative will bring transparency to supply chains and smoothen the path from stainless steel to usable scrap , and from scrap to ever more sustainable stainless steel production – ultimately creating a closed loop for steel scrap . This initiative is the first of its kind for the industry . “ Circularity is one crucial element of sustainable stainless steel production . With the Inner Circle initiative , we are bringing our customers and scrap suppliers together to ensure an efficient , transparent , and sustainable supply chain for steel scrap . Ultimately , our vision is to create a visible closed loop for steel – a unique example of circular economy in action ,” explains Max Menzel , Head of Sustainability & Technical Customer Service at Outokumpu .
Creating networks By using existing , efficient supply chains , the ways for the scrap from customers back to the producers can be shortened . Transparency and ESG conformity throughout the supply chain will be ensured by verifying all partners within this initiative . In the initiative , Outokumpu ’ s role is to steer the initiative and create networks between customers and verified scrap suppliers . The scrap suppliers ’ role is to ensure a sustainable supply chain by providing scrap from the network ’ s partners and distributing the scrap sustainably . Customers who join the program will bring their scrap back into the cycle after processing the material or by the end of the product ’ s life cycle via the scrap suppliers . “ Together we will show strong initiative and leadership by spearheading the move towards a more circular and closed-loop economy . Our partners can join this unique and open initiative , which is the first in the industry , and demonstrate their leadership and contribution to the circular economy ,” says Menzel .
Inviting industry partners to join Outokumpu ’ s partners can now join this groundbreaking initiative and demonstrate their leadership in circular economy to customers and stakeholders . The first partners will be able to give their input to the creation and development of the network to genuinely add value to the industry ’ s efforts in sustainability . “ Outokumpu Inner Circle is an open initiative where we would like to welcome all scrap suppliers and stainless steel consumers from Europe to participate . We are now entering the first phase of this initiative and I ’ m happy to announce CRONIMET as the first scrap supplier partner joining us . At this stage , our focus is on creating practices and learning about the cooperation . There ’ s been a lot of interest already , showing that there really is an industry-wide need for this kind of initiative ,” says Menzel .
“ The Inner Circle initiative builds on the ideas of fairness , openness and the pursuit of long-term partnerships and therefore fits perfectly with our corporate values . At the same time , we are convinced that this is the right approach to achieving sustainability and business success in the circular economy ,” says Nico Krueger , Commercial Director at CRONIMET .
A more sustainable future As a material , stainless steel is a key ingredient of circular economy as it is 100 % recyclable . Already today , Outokumpu has the highest recycled material content rate in the stainless steel industry at 94 %. “ We believe the world does not need more things – but things that last . And when a product is at the end of its life cycle , it should be brought back to life by becoming raw material for something new . The more we use scrap , the lower our emissions are . We would like to enable our customers and partners to actively participate by joining this initiative ,” says Juha Erkkilä , VP – Sustainability , Outokumpu .
60 Stainless Steel World September 2023 www . stainless-steel-world . net