Over the last year Ekos has been working alongside Thinkstep-anz and HERA to develop a robust carbon calculation and offsetting programme for steel products being purchased in Aotearoa. This tool is designed to enable steel consumers to understand the carbon impact of purchased steel as well as providing the opportunity to account for these emissions through regenerative carbon offsetting programmes.
Steel and iron production in Aotearoa is currently the largest industrial source of CO2 emissions in the country, representing 55% of industrial emissions and around 5% of total gross emissions. During steel processing, carbon is used to improve ore into a more purified form of iron by removing oxygen molecules. This produces a high quality iron that is ideal for steel manufacturing, but consequently generates a high volume of CO2 emissions as a by-product. The carbon source used is called a reductant. Global industry leaders like HERA are researching alternative reductants, but at this stage there is no commercially viable alternative to coal.
Until an alternative is developed, offsetting with robust and ethical carbon credits from Ekos’ supply chain plays a crucial role in the industry’s decarbonisation journey. This carbon offsetting provides a way for HERA to properly price the cost of their emissions to society (called an ‘external cost’ in economic language). They pay this price by purchasing high quality carbon credits that deliver climate resilience and biodiversity enhancements through reforestation and forest conservation carbon projects. This also creates a financial incentive to keep up the effort to reduce emissions as soon as possible.
For further information on the pathways and opportunities for steel decarbonisation, head to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4ShQ9W3xAw&t=158s&ab_channel=HERA
Diagram detailing how the carbon emissions of steel products are calculated
The carbon emissions calculations used in this programme are based on life-cycle assessments (LCAs) and environmental product declarations (EPDs). This means that the product-specific emissions calculations meets the highest standard of accuracy. The data used is peer-reviewed and publicly available. This means that anyone can access the data for their own calculation work.
Screenshot from the calculator
The aim for the programme is to change the current conversation around carbon within the steel industry. This tool will support project managers and other decision makers in the construction industry to improve their understanding of the carbon impact of the materials they are using. With an improved understanding they can start to make informed decisions about how to effectively reduce their impact via construction efficiencies or alternative (less carbon intensive) materials.
We have really enjoyed working with HERA and Thinkstep-anz on the development of this programme. It is great to see industry leaders committed to wanting to change the ‘business as usual’ scenario in the face of the climate crisis. We hope that this will lead to some positive change within the construction and steel manufacturing industries.
To view the tool and further information, head to: https://www.hera.org.nz/carbon-offsetting-programme/