BlueScope’s Western Port Site Achieves ResponsibleSteel Certification

BlueScope has achieved its second ResponsibleSteel certification for its Western Port site in Victoria, Australia. BlueScope’s first certification was obtained by the company’s Port Kembla Steelworks in February 2022.

Western Port is part of a fully integrated steel supply chain with hot rolled coil sourced from BlueScope’s Port Kembla Steelworks. The Western Port site has an annual steel processing capacity of 1 million tonnes, supplying high-quality metal-coated and painted products to both domestic and export markets. The site employs over 800 people who are supported by approximately 100 contractors, suppliers, and supply chain partners.

Commenting on the site certification, BlueScope’s Chief Executive, Australian Steel Products, Tania Archibald, said, “BlueScope is proud to achieve ResponsibleSteel site certification for Western Port. The certification reflects the outstanding efforts of our Western Port team, the quality of our operations, and provides our customers, shareholders, and communities with the confidence that BlueScope’s Western Port Works meets the very high environmental, social and governance performance standards required by ResponsibleSteel site certification. Through the audit process across all 12 sustainability principles, our approach to engaging with our communities, as well as our safety, supply chain, and human resource systems, were highlighted as areas of particularly high performance.”

BlueScope is a global steelmaker, making and supplying steel across 16 countries, employing 16,500 people. The company specialises in metal coating and painting for building and construction.

Annie Heaton, CEO of ResponsibleSteel, said, “This certification is a real testament to the hard work and dedication demonstrated by the site’s leadership and all of the site’s workers. The site has committed to a 30% reduction in emissions intensity by 2030 and has worked diligently to minimise its impact on the surrounding environment. The Western Port site has proven particularly strong in engaging and supporting local communities through Community Liaison Committee meetings and local projects. As one of the founding members of ResponsibleSteel, BlueScope has consistently championed our Standard as the most rigorous standard for steel. This second site certification for BlueScope represents real progress in the company’s sustainability journey and is a vital step towards the sourcing of responsibly produced steel products by the construction industry in Australia.”

The audit was conducted by BSI and involved an extensive review of documentation and news relating to the site, interviews with workers and local stakeholders, and an onsite visit.

BlueScope’s Chief Executive Climate Change & Sustainability, Gretta Stephens emphasised the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to drive transparency and performance across the steel industry: “ResponsibleSteel site certification is an important step in supporting our stakeholder’s expectations for clear and transparent information about the sustainability performance of our operations. BlueScope’s commitment to sustainability across our global operations will continue to guide our ResponsibleSteel journey, as we strengthen our communities for the future.”

Read the public audit summary here.