Climate change is the biggest issue for the steel industry in the 21st century.

At the core of the steel industry approach is the collection and reporting of CO₂ emissions data by steel plants in all the major steel-producing countries.

The industry has proposed a framework which needs to involve as many steel-producing companies as possible. The framework uses an intensity-based approach to measurement of CO₂ emissions. Its globally consistent methodology will allow production normalised CO₂ emission comparisons between regions that are not possible today.

The data collection will lead to benchmarking improvements based on actual performance data. This will be followed up with reporting and setting of commitments on a national or regional basis for implementation during the post-Kyoto Protocol period, after 2012.

Involvement in the CO₂ data collection initiative is not exclusive to members of worldsteel. In fact, worldsteel is inviting all steel companies – including those that are not members – to participate in this vital process. A specialist task force of worldsteel members from around the world developed the online tool. The database is hosted on dedicated servers at a company with ISO 27001 accreditation.

worldsteel does not intend to publish the data of individual steel companies. The aim of the project is to know, as quickly as possible, the current level of emissions from the production of steel worldwide. The data collection tool is designed to ensure that steel plants report emissions on a comparable basis.

Enough data must be collected before reporting can begin. With the data collected, member companies can reference this in their discussions with their governments. This will be done on a national and regional basis, with the involvement of national and regional steel associations.

The position paper on climate change is available in the About worldsteel section.