company news about The International Bureau of Recycling has called for fair "green steel" standards

On July 10, the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, released a document calling on society to adopt a fair and scientific and reasonable approach to develop "green steel" standards to accurately measure and reflect the level of carbon emissions, and ensure that the steel industry fully recognizes the important role of recycling steel scrap in advancing the low-carbon transition.
In its document, the International Recycling Bureau notes that current methods of identifying "green steel", particularly the "sliding scale" or "reference value" approach, risk labelling steel with higher emissions (traditionally raw steel produced from iron ore) as "green", while ignoring steel produced with low carbon emissions using steel scrap recycling and electric arc furnace (EAF) processes. This is not only opaque, but also has the potential to mislead incentives and public procurement away from truly low-carbon emission steel production processes.
Susie Burrage OBE, chair of Recycling International, said carbon emissions from steel produced using steel scrap and electric arc furnace processes could be cut by 74 per cent compared to the traditional blast furnace process. Firms that adopt this path are not asking for special treatment, but for an equal playing field. The environmental statement of steel products needs to be supported by real data, and the role of steel scrap recycling in the low-carbon transformation of the steel industry should be fully emphasized.
The International Bureau of Recycling stressed that the definition of "green steel" should be based on emissions over the entire life cycle, not just the production process or the source of raw materials. The International Recycling Bureau also called for public procurement to promote steel recycling, setting a minimum amount of steel scrap for use in public construction, transport and infrastructure projects. The global steel scrap trade is crucial for steelmakers committed to reducing carbon emissions, and restricting it will only delay the low-carbon transition. To that end, the bureau also highlighted the risk of barriers that limit cross-border trade in steel scrap - potentially disrupting global supply chains and reducing recycling rates in the places where it is exported. The International Recycling Bureau calls for: ensuring "green steel" standards are based on actual, measurable emissions; Using public procurement and incentives to reward low-carbon emitting steel and recycled steel; Increasing infrastructure investment in steel scrap collection and sorting to increase steel scrap recycling rates; Steel scrap recycling will be included in the formulation of "green steel" standards.
The International Recycling Bureau consists of five divisions - steel, non-ferrous metals, paper, plastics and textiles - and has three commodity committees dealing with stainless steel and special alloys, tyres and rubber, and recycled electronics, respectively.