After officially releasing its steel plants’ carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions results, special steel products producer Swiss Steel Holding AG commissioned assurance and risk management provider DNV Business Assurance Germany to perform an independent audit for the 2021 financial year.

DNV carried out onsite audits at 12 of the steel producer’s most significant plants across Europe and one in America.

The audit statement stated, among other things, that, based on tests performed at the plants, the evidence obtained showed no indication that the selected information had not been prepared, “in all material respects in accordance with the criteria”.

Swiss Steel Group CEO Frank Koch commented: "Sustainable steelmaking is in the DNA of Swiss Steel Group; we are strongly committed to decarbonisation and green steel. The audit statement now available from [DNV] will further enhance our sustainability rating, transparency and credibility as a leader in green steel and will already help the group to meet the new legal reporting requirements in the future."

Driving Decarbonisation Forward

As Europe’s largest steel producer using electric arc furnaces, the Swiss Steel Group performs up to 80% better from a CO₂ emissions perspective than its peers that use blast furnaces, a good starting point for market leadership, but not sufficient for the group’s long-term ambitions, says Koch.

The group operations exclusively produce steel from scrap, an important prerequisite to produce “green steel” resulting in a tremendous reduction of the CO₂ footprint, in comparison to traditional production of steel based on iron-ore and coke, resulting in more sustainable steel.

The Swiss Steel Group has launched "Green Steel", an offensive for low-CO₂ steel, a decisive factor for customers and the public ensuring that all measures are coordinated and publicly traceable.

Koch concludes: "Green Steel is, therefore, not just a tool to help reduce the emissions of the entire group [. . .] systematically, it is intended to support the customers and partners of the Swiss Steel Group in reducing their Scope 3 emissions and to encourage them to do more for climate protection.”