We’re shaping a more ResponsibleSteel industry.

‍By Annie Heaton, CEO, ResponsibleSteel

Last week, we brought together stakeholders from across the steel value chain in London to mark ten years of ResponsibleSteel. Held during London Climate Action Week, it was an opportunity to reflect on progress and look ahead to the challenges shaping the industry’s future.

It’s remarkable to think how far we’ve come since the first ideas began to form in the Australian Steel Stewardship Forum, culminating in the registration of ResponsibleSteel in 2016.

In 2019, we launched the ResponsibleSteel International Production Standard, with site audits beginning the following year. We now have over 150 members and 90 certified sites, covering more than 270,000 workers.

What began as an ambitious vision - to create a global multi-stakeholder system that certifies what good looks like for steel - has grown into a truly respected movement in every continent.

We can be immensely proud of what ResponsibleSteel has achieved over the past decade. Yet, we know the steel industry operates in a complex and often volatile environment and we cannot afford to be complacent, as our Chair Gerry Tidd reflected at the reception last week.

A strategy for the future

Anniversaries are also a moment to reassess. To remain effective, we must continue to evolve. Investment is slowing, uncertainty is rising, and the pace of decarbonisation is under pressure. These challenges make the need for trusted standards, credible measurement, and effective collaboration more, not less, important.

Over the past year, we have worked with our Board to develop a new strategy to advance our mission. Our work will focus on three priorities:

1.  First, catalysing leadership in responsibly produced iron as well as steel – driving progress across the full value chain from raw material extraction through to finished steel,

2.  Second, enabling a level playing field for steelmakers on GHG, via alignment and interoperability to enable a coherent trading system across the industry,

3.  Third, helping to shape markets in which responsibly produced, low-emissions steel can thrive via public and private sector policy to drive demand and finance for responsible decarbonisation.

Central to this is working with our multi-stakeholder community to ensure our standards and assurance systems remain practical, credible and relevant.

With this strategy in mind, I want to share a few examples of how this strategy will be translated into action in the first year.

The first will be the introduction of our Accelerator Groups initiative - focused, collaborative groups bringing together stakeholders from across the value chain to address shared challenges, remove barriers to progress, and accelerate action. Initial Accelerators will focus on automotive value chains and transition finance.

Secondly, we have long recognised the importance of bringing China into the emerging global market for low-emissions steel. Building on our considerable progress since COP31 with the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) on interoperable GHG measurement rules, alongside our work with LESS, our next focus is advancing interoperable verification, assurance, and GHG claims to support a trusted global market for low-emissions iron and steel.

Finally, we know that our stakeholders value opportunities to come together in person to exchange ideas, strengthen relationships, and build momentum for change. With that in mind, we are excited to be planning a major in-person event for early next year – keep an eye out for an announcement imminently.

We will, of course, be sharing more details on our strategy and these innovations in the weeks and months ahead.

Ten years ago, ResponsibleSteel began as an ambitious idea. Today, it is a global organisation helping to drive responsible production across one of the world's most important industries. As we celebrate this milestone, we remain focused on building a steel industry that is more responsible, resilient and sustainable.

On 26 May 2026, ResponsibleSteel and the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) co-hosted a technical workshop in Shanghai, bringing together steelmakers, downstream users, verification bodies and policy stakeholders to advance the development of an interoperability mechanism between decarbonisation approaches in ResponsibleSteel International Production Standard’ and CISA's C2F Steel Standard.

The workshop is the latest step in a collaboration that began with our landmark COP30 agreements and our visit to China in January to kick off the interoperability project. China accounts for the majority of global steel production, making alignment between the ResponsibleSteel standard and C2F on decarbonisation one of the most significant pieces of work underway in the global move toward low-emission steel.

The day covered several key topics, including: 

• what credible interoperability claims could look like in practice; 
• findings from the comparative analysis of the two standards, focusing on emissions accounting (Criteria 10.4 and 10.6) and disclosure requirements (Criterion 10.7); 
• deep dives into emissions accounting and metrics, and into disclosure, transparency and assurance; 
• and next steps toward a pilot programme.

Participants emphasised the importance of practical solutions that work across different markets and operating contexts. The discussions also engaged openly with the challenges of aligning site-based and product-based approaches to emissions measurement — questions that will require continued technical work to resolve, and that the workshop made useful progress in understanding.

The discussions reinforced that interoperability creates a pathway toward more comparable, trusted emissions claims across borders; different classification systems can co-exist, and carefully designed co-calculation and assurance tools will support data flow between suppliers and customers.

The outcomes of the workshop will inform final proposals for operationalising the interoperability programme, including pilot audit design and governance framework. 

‍Learn more about the ResponsibleSteel International Production Standard

Preparations are underway for ResponsibleSteel’s involvement in London Climate Action Week, including a Member Reception to mark the 10-year anniversary of ResponsibleSteel, and a Finance Working Group focused on unlocking transition finance - see below for more details.

In this newsletter we also share updates from across the system, including GHG assurance workshops, progress on the Standard Revision, and CEO Annie Heaton’s recent speech at an offshore wind production event in China.

Finally, we spotlight upcoming audits, assurance discussions and new guidance shaping responsible sourcing across the value chain.

Read the full May newsletter here.

Highlights

Member Reception at London Climate Action Week

We are delighted to confirm that the ResponsibleSteel Member Reception will take place during London Climate Action Week, bringing our community together in person to celebrate a major milestone - 10 years of ResponsibleSteel.

The reception will be held on Monday 22 June, supported by BCG and taking place at their office. It will provide an opportunity for members to reconnect with peers from across the network, celebrate our collective progress and look ahead to the next chapter for responsible steel production and sourcing.

Finance Working Group

We are also pleased to highlight that the next edition in our Finance Working Group series is set to take place in London on the same day - Monday 22 June - as the Member Reception, and is also kindly supported by BCG. This closed-door roundtable will bring together senior representatives from financial institutions, steelmakers and other partners to continue strategic discussions on how to mobilise and de-risk transition finance for the steel sector.

LESS Publishes Statement on ESPR Delegated Act

The Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS) initiative has published a new public statement in response to the ESPR Delegated Act, outlining the initiative’s position and key considerations for the steel sector.

The statement has also been shared with media contacts and via LinkedIn to encourage broader industry engagement and discussion. Members and stakeholders are encouraged to read and share the statement across their networks to help raise awareness of the issues addressed.

WMBC Campaign: Seizing the Electric Advantage

The We Mean Business Coalition’s “Seizing the Electric Advantage” campaign is inviting companies to support a new global business statement ahead of London Climate Action Week.

The campaign highlights how electrification powered by clean, locally generated electricity can provide a practical and commercially available pathway to stronger competitiveness, lower energy costs over time, improved resilience and long-term economic growth.

Other updates included:

• Information on recent GHG Assurance and Claims Workshops
• ResponsibleSteel's CEO Annie Heaton speaking at Dajin Offshore's event in China
• Updates on the Standard's revision process
• Details on the upcoming Calibration Workshop for auditors
• Upcoming audits