Inside our 2026 Progress Report: Celebrating global partnerships, new certifications, and growing impact

ResponsibleSteel’s 2026 Progress Report captures a year marked by deepening global alignment and strengthened member commitment to advancing responsible, low‑emission and near‑zero steelmaking. Despite a challenging operating environment marked by geopolitical volatility, shifting supply chain risks and heightened scrutiny of corporate transition plans, our latest report demonstrates how ResponsibleSteel continues to convene members and stakeholders to drive credible, independently verified progress across the global industry.

A critical year for responsible steelmaking

ResponsibleSteel Chair Gerry Tidd reflects on a year marked by disruption and rapidly shifting expectations for heavy industry, as many steelmakers turned their focus to immediate operational pressures. Yet the urgency around climate and sustainability has not diminished. As Tidd notes in his opening message, “In this evolving context, ResponsibleSteel’s role as a trusted multistakeholder convenor and an independent global reference point has never been more critical.”

Despite these headwinds, 2025 saw clear momentum across ResponsibleSteel’s global certification programme. Seven new sites achieved Core Site Certification—including the first site in the Gulf Cooperation Council region and the largest single certified site in Europe to date. Importantly, every site with expiring certifications chose to recertify, underscoring the value of credible, independent verification in a rapidly changing market.

Strengthening global alignment

Last year, we celebrated a major milestone in aligning global approaches to low emission steel. ResponsibleSteel concluded landmark agreements with the Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS) in Europe and with the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), extending common approaches to GHG measurement and classification across a collective membership covering roughly 60% of global steel production. These partnerships lay the foundations for interoperability mechanisms that will bring greater clarity to markets, reduce fragmentation and enable investment in the world’s largest steel producing regions.

The year also saw major buyer and investor engagement initiatives, including the Strength to Strength campaign, a US investor roadshow, and new guidance from Microsoft and Carbon Direct recognising ResponsibleSteel Progress Levels as benchmarks for supplier expectations.

Key highlights from the year

The report details strong progress across ResponsibleSteel’s certification and membership programmes:

• Seven new certified sites across Europe, the Middle East and India
• 100% recertification uptake for expiring certificates
• Nearly 90 certified sites across 19 countries, representing a combined 142 million tonnes of annual steel production
• Over 262,000 workers covered by ResponsibleSteel certification
• 12 new members, bringing total membership to 167 organisations headquartered across 36 countries.

Looking ahead: Building the systems for accelerating progress at scale

In her closing message, CEO Annie Heaton outlines the organisation’s focus for 2026: reinforcing the systems and frameworks that will underpin growth in responsibly produced low emission and near zero steel. With many companies facing delayed transition investments and unpredictable market conditions, Heaton stresses the importance of maintaining long term ambition while supporting practical, measurable progress.

ResponsibleSteel’s priorities include strengthening interoperability mechanisms, advancing the revision of ResponsibleSteel’s International Production Standard and claims framework, and expanding work with buyers and investors to support robust procurement and financing decisions.

As Heaton states, “This work is key to expanding low‑emission steel supply, enabling global trade through comparable data, strengthening investment cases, reducing regulatory burden and supporting effective policy. In short, it helps to keep global trade gates open and ensure a claim made in one region can be understood and trusted in another.”

As our membership grows and global partnerships deepen, ResponsibleSteel continues to serve as a unifying force, bringing together industry, civil society, policymakers and finance to accelerate pathways to responsibly produced low-emission and near-zero steelmaking.

Read ResponsibleSteel’s 2026 Progress Report here.