Schnitzer Steel Cut 4.2 Mt of Carbon Emissions

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. announced the release of its sustainability report covering fiscal years 2017 and 2018. The report highlights the company’s sustainability achievements during the fiscal. The key environmental benefit includes avoidance of approximately 4.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to taking off nearly 907,000 cars off the road for a period of one year.

According to the report, Schnitzer Steel continued to show year-on-year improvement in all key sustainability performance indicators. The company considerably lowered its carbon emissions, energy consumption and water usage.

Renewable sources constitute nearly 80% of the electricity consumption by the company. The Oregon steel manufacturing plant, for instance, has a state-of-the-art water recycling system which ensures re-use of almost 80% water. The company saved 10 million gigajoules of energy and 7.4 million cubic metres of water.

By acquiring and recycling millions of tons of scrap metal, Schnitzer Steel operations resulted in conservation of 10 million cubic meters of landfill space.

The company reported notable improvement to its safety performance during the fiscal. 76% of the company’s facilities experienced zero lost time due to injuries during the fiscal. A total of 46 facilities were recordable-free in 2018. Among them, five have been recordable-free for five or more number of years. Further, Schnitzer Steel committed to improving safety performance across all its facilities.