From Data to Decisions: Comparable GHG Emissions Data for Steel Procurement

Steel decarbonisation depends on markets being able to recognise and reward genuine emissions reductions. As demand for lower-emissions steel grows, buyers increasingly rely on Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to understand and compare the emissions associated with different steel products. However, differences in methodologies and data can make it difficult to determine whether variations in reported emissions reflect genuine differences in steelmaking performance.

In From Data to Decisions: Comparable GHG Emissions Data for Steel Procurement, ResponsibleSteel examines how effectively EPDs reflect genuine steelmaking emissions and support credible low-emissions steel procurement. Drawing on real, independently verified site-level data from steelmakers, the report demonstrates how methodological choices – including system boundaries, co-product allocation and background datasets – can significantly influence reported product-level GHG values. It also explores how these differences can affect the comparability of emissions data and procurement decisions.

The report concludes that EPDs remain a valuable and well-established tool for communicating environmental impacts, but identifies three foundations that are essential for credible and comparable low-emissions steel claims: transparency, comparability and consistency. Strengthening these foundations can help buyers make more informed procurement decisions and ensure markets better recognise and reward genuine progress in steel decarbonisation.

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