ResponsibleSteel™ Steel Product Certification Working Groups

The first meetings of the ResponsibleSteel working groups on steel product claims, greenhouse gas emissions and raw materials all took place on 22 April. The three groups each met in two sessions to allow participation from working group members based in Australia, Europe and the Americas. Working group members then reconvened in joint sessions on 24 April to listen and comment on the headline findings.

All three working groups are considering the requirements that will need to be met in order for claims to be made about the ResponsibleSteel certified status of steel products.

The meetings were originally scheduled to have taken place face to face, but in common with many organisations around the world ResponsibleSteel has had to adapt to the measures being taken to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and implement a virtual process.

Some 60 participants took part across the three working groups, including active participation from mining and steelmaking businesses and interest groups, downstream steel users, civil society organisations, assurance bodies and consultancy organisations. Participants responded to a series of high-level questions that had been introduced in an earlier briefing session on 11 March, and built on their comments on a draft ‘Steel Product Certification Requirements’ document circulated in advance of the meetings.

A recording of the 11 March Briefing session and the accompanying slides are available on the Resources page of the ResponsibleSteel website, together the slides for the working group meetings on 22 April, the headline feedback from those meetings, and the collated anonymised comments submitted in advance of the working group sessions.

The next step in the process will be to publish and circulate a revised draft set of requirements, taking account of the working group feedback, for a formal 30-day public stakeholder consultation. Comments will be welcome from ResponsibleSteel members and non-members alike.