what’s working: sustainability
Green Steel
Built in 1905, in a historically energy-intensive industry, a Seattle steel company has raised
the bar on how environmental leadership and innovation can make any company, including
a large steel producer, a recycling and low-emissions giant.
employer: Nucor Steel Seattle, Inc.
location: Seattle
number of employees: 325
product: Roughly 85 percent of Nucor’s output is structural rebar, ranging from less than half-inch widths to the
2¼-inch bars that hold up bridges and buildings. Seattle steel helped build the former World Trade Center and is found
in foundations for a majority of Northwest homes and every major construction project in the region, including the
Space Needle and the Seattle Tunnel Project.
innovative environmental stewardship: In lock-step with the state’s
environmental values, Nucor Steel Seattle is Washington’s most prolific recycler —
reusing almost a million tons of scrap metal annually and making it into new steel
products. The process of recycling steel uses up to eight times less energy than
many of Nucor’s competitors.
Because Washington is blessed with an abundance of clean, renewable hydropower,
the mill gets most of its electricity from hydroelectric generators. This, combined
with investments of tens of millions of dollars for energy efficiency upgrades, results
in carbon emissions of less than one fifth of the industry average. And while the
Environmental Protection Agency requires visible emissions standards between 3
and 6 percent, the mill has adhered to the local standard of zero visible emissions for
its melt shop.
All of this adds up to Nucor’s Seattle mill being
one of the cleanest and most efficient steel mills
in the world.
in their own words:
“Nucor Steel
re c o g n i ze s o u r ro l e i n p ro t e c t i n g t h e
environment and has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to its welfare. We plan
to continue this tradition of environmental
stewardship, continuous improvement, and
investment in our energy-efficient operations.”
— Mat t Lyons, vice president and general
manager, Nucor Steel Seattle
nucor.com/responsibility/sustainability/
22 association of washington business