United States Steel Corporation announced Wednesday that the company’s goal is to target net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
According to a news release, the company will leverage its growing fleet of electric arc furnaces coupled with other technology such as direct reduced iron; carbon-free energy sources; and carbon capture, sequestration and utilization to achieve the goal.
“Climate change is a global crisis that requires a global response. Today, by announcing our net-zero goal, U.S. Steel is committing to doing our part to support the U.N. Paris Agreement on climate change to achieve global carbon neutrality by 2050" said U.S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt. “With our 120-year history of innovating to solve any challenge, U.S. Steel intends to be a part of the climate solution.”
The net-zero ambition builds on U.S. Steel’s existing goal to reduce greenhouse gas emission intensity by 20% across the company’s global footprint by 2030. It follows the company’s acquisition of technologically advanced Big River Steel, the only LEED certified steel mill in the United States, according to the release.
“We are dedicated to producing the steels that are essential to our daily lives and innovating to solve the challenges our customers face. Climate change is the challenge of this generation and doing our part is a core component of our ‘Best for All’ strategy for profitable growth. We believe that we have a path forward that allows us to profitably produce sustainable steels well into the future, and we know that when businesses, governments and people work together to improve our shared destiny, transformative innovations can follow,” Burritt said.
Last month, at Ceres 2021, the company introduced a new sustainable steel product line, verdeX This month, U.S. Steel became the first steel company based in North America to join ResponsibleSteel.
More information on U.S. Steel’s emissions targets and environmental efforts is available at www.ussteel.com/sustainability/environmental/ghg.
Breathe Project released a statement saying “The clearest message from this announcement is how little the Mon Valley Works features in this vision of innovation. What is featured prominently are electric arc furnaces in the newly purchased Big River Steel facility in Arkansas.”
Had this sustainability announcement occurred in the year 2010, there would be cause for celebration about its pioneering approach. In 2021, however, this announcement highlights how out-of-touch U.S. Steel is with credible sustainability reporting requirements. U.S. Steel’s has a history in SWPA of broken promises, making this latest announcement appear to be brand sanitizing.
“U.S. Steel’s plans also lack credibility because of their long history of past actions that lack follow-through. This pattern of evading accountability while continuing to degrade the health and well-being of residents in Allegheny County needs to end,” the release states.
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