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Update #21 | Sustainability News from the EPA, ResponsibleSteel and U.S. Steel

In this report, learn about a new grant to automate the development of steel product environmental product declarations, ResponsibleSteel’s new report on steel sustainability progress and U.S. Steel’s launch of a DR-grade pellet production facility in Minnesota.

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BuildSteel is tracking the sustainability initiatives of Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA) members and their partners. Here is some recent sustainability news related to the cold-formed steel (CFS) framing industry.

EPA Grant Supports Development of Steel EPDs

The University of Massachusetts Amherst, the American Iron and Steel Institute and the American Institute of Steel Construction were selected as a team to receive a $6.4 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to automate the development of steel product environmental product declarations.

The grant totaling nearly $160 million will help reduce climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials and products, the EPA news release says. Specifically, the project will:

  • Reduce the environmental impacts of domestic construction activity, steel production and product manufacturing by increasing the quality, transparency and geographic coverage of life cycle inventories and resultant EPDs representing steel products
  • Develop life cycle inventory and EPD generator tools that can automate production of steel product EPDs, create an EPD repository and update the steel PCR
  • Identify deconstruction processes for existing structures, required tests for recovered materials and required modifications and fabrication data to increase the use of salvaged steel products

University of Massachusetts Amherst EPA Grant $6.4 million EPD

“This initiative will create a much-needed database that will immensely improve reporting for numerous stakeholders and help reduce environmental impacts,” said AISI president and CEO Kevin Dempsey. 

Read the full AISI news release. 

ResponsibleSteel Releases New Sustainability Report 

ResponsibleSteel™, the steel industry’s multi-stakeholder standard and certification initiative, announced the release of a new report, “Charting Progress to 1.5°C through Certification.” 

Using two base scenarios, the report offers a detailed mapping of the progress needed for the global steel industry to achieve climate commitments under the 2016 Paris Agreement. 

According to the analysis, for the industry to meet its Paris Agreement obligations, every steel plant in the world needs to emit less than today’s average emissions intensity by 2030.


“Transforming the steel industry will require bold and universal action,” said ResponsibleSteel’s CEO Annie Heaton. “Our analysis shows how certification can be used both to plan and to track the progress of every site on an equitable basis.”

Read the full news release. 

U.S. Steel Opens DR-Grade Pellet Production Facility

United States Steel Corporation, a steel producer and member of SFIA, announced the launch and operational readiness of its direct reduced (DR)-grade pellet production facility at its Minnesota Ore Operations-Keetac Plant. 

Having already confirmed the first shipment of DR-grade pellets, the Keetac facility is on track to deliver approximately four million tons of pellets annually. The $150 million investment marks a step forward in U.S. Steel’s metallics strategy by supplying the increasingly tight DR-grade pellet market with low-cost iron ore and building on the company’s ability to meet customer needs.


“U.S. Steel’s new pellet facility is a smart investment in the people and potential of the Iron Range,” said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. “This project is creating jobs, lowering emissions and ensuring Minnesota’s iron ore industry remains strong for generations.”

Read the full U.S. Steel news release.

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