New report: Improving EPDs for GHG emissions data for steel procurement
New report: Improving EPDs for GHG emissions data for steel procurement
New report: Improving EPDs for GHG emissions data for steel procurement
As demand for low emission steel grows, buyers increasingly need reliable and comparable information to understand the emissions performance of the products they are purchasing. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are an established tool for providing this information – but how effectively do they reflect genuine differences in steelmaking emissions?
ResponsibleSteel’s new report, From Data to Decisions: Comparable GHG Emissions Data for Steel Procurement, examines this question using real, verified site-level data from steelmakers.
What did we find?
The analysis demonstrates that GHG values reported at product level can vary significantly, even where products are assessed using the same Product Category Rule. Importantly, methodological choices – including system boundaries, approaches to co-product allocation and background datasets – can have a significant influence on reported emissions.
This means that relying on product-level GWP (Global Warming Potential1) values alone to identify and procure ‘low-emissions’ steel can produce misleading results, potentially rewarding methodological differences rather than genuine decarbonisation progress.
The report does not argue that EPDs are unsuitable for steel procurement. Rather, it highlights the importance of greater transparency, comparability and consistency in the way emissions information is calculated and communicated.
Towards more credible steel procurement
For markets to effectively recognise and reward genuine emissions reductions, buyers need confidence that the emissions data they use allows for meaningful comparison between products and producers.
The report sets out practical recommendations for strengthening the foundations of credible low-emissions steel procurement, including greater transparency around emissions calculations, clearer disclosure of crude steel emissions intensity and scrap content, and approaches that enable more meaningful comparison of steel products.
[1] Global Warming Potential (GWP) in an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a standardised metric that measures how much heat a product's greenhouse gas emissions trap in the atmosphere, relative to carbon dioxide (CO₂).
