To achieve our mission, our programme must cover the entire steel supply chain. The ResponsibleSteel™ Standard applies to steel production, processing and finishing and comprises requirements for the responsible sourcing of input materials. The steel sector relies heavily on extracted minerals, on scrap and – in some cases – on wood for the production, processing and finishing of steel products. There are many programmes that define environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements for responsible mining and forestry, and initial steps have been made to create such programmes for scrap as well. The most effective and efficient way for ResponsibleSteel™ to address sourcing aspects is to recognise input material programmes that credibly verify ESG performance of suppliers and to recognise these programmes in our responsible sourcing requirements.
To date, the following programmes have been recognised by ResponsibleSteel™ and we have determined a minimum ESG performance that suppliers must achieve under these programmes so that their steel customers can qualify for Level 2 certification against the responsible sourcing requirements:
• Bettercoal: ‘Substantially Met’ at the Principle level
• IRMA: ‘Transparency’ with an action plan to achieve the 40 critical IRMA requirements by the end of the mine site’s 3-year audit cycle
• TSM: Mines must fully meet the TSM Responsible Sourcing Alignment Supplement and those TSM Protocols that apply a Yes/No rating. The other Protocols must be met at Level A
For more detail on the recognition decisions for Bettercoal, IRMA and TSM and to understand the conditions that are attached to recognition, please see here .
Read on for more information on recognition assessments and how to apply for recognition.
We have developed a recognition methodology and assessment tool that helps us identify credible input material programmes that we can partner with. The methodology was subject to stakeholder consultation and so were the initial recognition assessments we carried out with a number of mining programmes.
Visit our resources page for the methodology, any assessment results and recognition decisions – including attached conditions and recommendations – as well as background information on recognition.
ResponsibleSteel’s initial recognition work was possible thanks to a grant from the ISEAL Innovations Fund, which is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO.
We are committed to assessing additional input material programmes for recognition where this will help ResponsibleSteel™ achieve its mission. We have a list of programmes that have either proactively come forward or have been suggested to us for assessment.
Recognition assessments are in-depth exercises and we will prioritise assessments of programmes that are highly relevant to the steel sector. The assessments also require close collaboration by the benchmarked programme.
Mining programmes and other input material programmes that are interested in seeking ResponsibleSteel™ recognition should study our material on recognition here and may contact us to make their interest known. Note that a recognition fee of US $3000 will be charged to recover some of the costs of our recognition work.