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Steel and the circular economy
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Shaping the circular economy is an ongoing challenge. Achieving this objective is not possible without steel. The European Commission is expected to publish a package with proposals on the Circular Economy towards the end of 2015. This package will explain how the EU intends to deal with the need to transform Europe into a more competitive resource-efficient economy, addressing a range of issues, including reuse, recycling, and waste treatment.
Steel is a 100% recyclable, ‘permanent’ material, which loses none of its unique properties when properly processed. The European steel industry works hard to ensure that the steel it produces can be reused, recovered, and recycled. It also ensures that steel production’s by-products, such as slags and process, gases are put to the best possible uses.
The brochure provides recommendations to policy makers dealing with issues arising in the circular economy for the steel industry. It shows that steel can help mitigate CO2 emissions and help reduce product lifecycle emissions. Steel’s characteristic as a ‘permanent’ material means it can be easily reused and subsequently recycled in a constant loop.
To this end, the brochure proposes that the recycling definition in the EU’s waste legislation be adapted to properly meet the aspirations of the circular economy. Finally, it demonstrates the large degree to which steel production retains as much of the material created during steel production and is able to make use of its by-products.
As part of its commitment to underpinning the circular economy, the steel industry is constantly working on cleaner, resource-efficient solutions – as well as on an ever-expanding range of steel grades – ensuring that the average 170 million tonnes of steel it produces every year are ever more sustainable, useful and environmentally friendly.
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Brussels, 03 May 2023 – The year 2022 came to a close with a sharper-than-anticipated recession in apparent steel consumption (-7.2%) as steel demand shrank significantly, due to the energy crisis and the impact of the war in Ukraine. Although the worst seems to be over after the fourth quarter of 2022, apparent steel consumption is still projected to be negative (-1%) in 2023, before rebounding in 2024 (+5.4%). However, high uncertainty continues to cast a shadow on the outlook for 2023, which remains bleak. Although steel imports have decreased in tandem with demand, their market share is still historically high (23.4%).
Second quarter 2023 report. Data up to, and including, fourth quarter 2022
Joint industry statement