(Bloomberg) -- ArcelorMittal SA is offering certificates that allow customers to reduce their carbon footprint through the steel giant's own emission cutting projects.
The program, named “XCarb green steel certificates,” allows buyers to purchase the vouchers along with their physical steel orders that can help offset Scope 3 emissions -- the pollution created when customers process raw materials.
“For the first time we are bringing on the market, under our brand, decarbonized steel,” said Geert Van Poelvoorde, chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal Europe. “It's a magic moment for us.”
Decarbonizing steel presents a mammoth task for the industry, which in recent years has suffered financially from low prices driven by overcapacity. ArcelorMittal said in 2020 it planned to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, though has insisted that governments must provide policy support to make that achievable.
The reductions will be aggregated from ArcelorMittal's existing green steel projects, which include producing coking coal through biomass and capturing emissions for use in chemical production. It anticipates it will have 600,000 tonnes of equivalent green steel available to purchase by the end of 2022.
Under the program, ArcelorMittal's carbon savings are aggregated, verified and converted into certificates using a conversion factor that represents the average carbon intensity of integrated steelmaking in Europe.
The company also announced an offering of recycled steel produced with renewable energy via the electric arc furnance route, as well as a new fund to invest $100 million a year in companies developing green steel technology.
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