The challenge
ArcelorMittal is the second-largest steel producer in the world, with production of approximately 70 million tonnes of steel in 2021. The company has 37 steel plants in sixteen countries, including an integrated steelmaking site and rail mill in Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland. In 2022, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $79.8 billion and crude steel production of 59.0 million metric tonnes, while iron ore production reached 45.3 million metric tonnes.
One of the products they manufacture are rails. In order to win public tenders in the Netherlands, ArcelorMittal asked Hedgehog Company to perform a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of two of their rails. The LCA addressed their steel plant and rail mill.
The approach
This LCA study aimed to generate reliable and accurate quantitative environmental data of two rail profiles. With the LCA the Environmental Cost Indicator (in Dutch MKI) was calculated. The MKI is a single score indicator representing the shadow price of a product expressed in euro.
The result
With an MKI score of their rails, Arcelor Mittal gets an understanding of the environmental impact of their product, and is able to apply for Dutch tenders.
The outcomes of this study will be used for business-to-business communication.
The target group of this study are governments and businesses related to public procurement in the Dutch construction sector, as well as customers with whom ArcelorMittal wishes to share the environmental data.
