We’re shaping a more ResponsibleSteel industry.
We have the opportunity to do things differently.
ResponsibleSteel is a global, not-for-profit organisation created to maximise steel’s contribution to a sustainable world. Working collaboratively with our members, we have developed an independent standards and certification programme for steel via a process that uses the ISEAL Codes of Good Practice as a reference. Together, we are setting the global standard for responsibly produced net-zero steel.
We’re at a pivotal moment in the steel industry.
According to ResponsibleSteel's calculations using data from RMI and the International Energy Agency (IEA), the steelmaking process, from the extraction of raw materials to the production of steel, accounts for 10% of global GHG emissions. We face a collective challenge to transform the industry, reducing global emissions while ensuring a just transition for workers and local communities.
We have over 160 members working to deliver on our mission to drive responsible steel production.
According to the IEA's Net Zero Emissions Scenario, we need to reduce steel industry emissions by at least 90% by 2050, compared to 2022.
We have over 90 ResponsibleSteel certified sites globally.
Over 260,000 workers are covered by ResponsibleSteel certification.
Over 30% of furnaces covered by ResponsibleSteel certification are EAFs.
This is the future of steel.
Our members are at the heart of our work.
ResponsibleSteel’s membership consists of representatives from across the steel value chain, including businesses, NGOs, trade associations, and other organisations with an interest in our mission. This means our standards are uniquely shaped by multiple perspectives, and their adoption requires the support of both business and civil society members. We encourage organisations globally to join us to create lasting impact for people and the planet.
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We have certified sites across the globe.
Latest news & events
The October edition of the ResponsibleSteel Newsletter is out!
The most noteworthy event in October was the launch of the public consultation - a critical stage of our Standard Revision process where proposed revisions to the International Production Standard are opened up to public feedback. If you haven't participated, you still have until 23 November to do so.
In this edition, we also report back from Bangkok Climate Action Week and a World Trade Organisation session on interoperability. Then, we look forward to November, particularly ResponsibleSteel's attendance at COP31 in Antalya, Turkiye, as well as our Steelmakers and Civil Society Reference Groups and important working groups. Not to mention, we highlight ResponsibleSteel's newest member: Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS).
Highlights include:
- Launch of the public consultation
- ResponsibleSteel's COP31 attendance in Antalya, Turkiye
- Steelmakers & Civil Society Reference Groups
- Working groups on Principle 10 & Chain of Custody
- Bangkok Climate Action Week
- World Trade Organisation session on interoperability
- Initial meetings with automotive industry in ResponsibleSteel's Auto Accelerator
- New members and community updates
- Upcoming ResponsibleSteel audits and events
Read the full October newsletter here.
How should steel products get credit for cutting emissions? Final Principle 10 workstream begins 3 November
The ResponsibleSteel Decarbonisation Scale is a framework for decarbonising steel while acknowledging the physical limits of scrap availability. Evaluations of how far any given steel-producing site has gone in cutting its climate impact is currently based on a whole steelworks’ average emissions. That average encourages sites to improve as a whole. But steelmakers rarely change everything at once. A new, cleaner production line often runs alongside older equipment, and its progress disappears into the site average.
From 3 November, a working group will explore whether, and how, sites could make claims for individual products or production lines, so that cleaner steel can be marketed as such as early as possible. It will look at what is assessed, how emissions are shared between products, what safeguards and tracking are needed, and how claims are communicated.
In a 2025 survey, 68% of responding ResponsibleSteel members supported this, provided strong safeguards are in place. Proposed safeguards include:
- the whole site must be certified
- the whole site must first reach the first progress level
- the approach would end on a set date (for example 2035), as a bridge through the transition
- no product could claim lower emissions than the site’s best technology can physically achieve
- sites could only claim as much low-emission steel as they actually produce
Renewable energy purchases could play a limited, tightly tracked role, but carbon offset credits would not count.
The group’s input will feed directly into version 3.0 of the ResponsibleSteel International Production Standard and its guidance and annexes. The aim is recognition that is fair, credible and comparable, without opening loopholes.
ResponsibleSteel members are welcome to join. Anyone can request the detailed proposal to give feedback, or ask questions, at standards@responsiblesteel.org.
You can access a detailed work plan which sets out the scope, purpose, objectives & intended outcomes of the working group, as well as the guiding principles, governance structure and proposed timeline.
Call for Members: Working Group on Chain of Custody Standard and Claims & Logo Use Guidelines Revision
ResponsibleSteel is forming a new Working Group to guide the revision of our Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard and the Claims & Logo Use Guidelines.
Robust Chain of Custody and Claims Guidelines are essential to ResponsibleSteel’s certification programme, ensuring credible claims for products originating from ResponsibleSteel certified sites.
This Working Group will focus on:
- Enhancing Value & Market Growth: Revise the CoC Standard so that it supports credible, substantiated and third-party verified claims on steel from ResponsibleSteel certified sites, adds value across the steel value chain, and grows the market for certified steel.
- Strengthening Claims: Revise the Claims and Logo Use Guidelines, including the claim rules and oversight needed for credible and legally compliant product claims, and add new claim types.
Meeting Schedule & Next Steps
Meetings will take place between late November 2026 and Q1/Q2 2027. Your expertise will help ensure our standards remain robust, practical, and responsive to industry needs.
- Learn More: Review the full Terms of Reference for detailed work plan.
- Get Involved: Interested parties (including steelmakers, processors, traders, buyers, certification bodies or civil society), please complete the Registration Form by 13 November 2026.
If you have any questions or would like a discussion before registering, please reach out to Margaret Ho at mho@responsiblesteel.org.
