We are pleased to announce the release of a new white paper, Decarbonization of the Steel Industry: Medium-Term Goals and Immediate Gains for the Construction Sector, developed through our 2026 Sustainability in Action Premier Program Partnership with constructsteel, the steel market development program of the World Steel Association.
Steel’s role in the built environment is shifting, from a source of embodied carbon to a proving ground for what decarbonization can look like at scale. This industry-leading report delivers actionable insight into one of the built environment’s most consequential challenges: reducing embodied carbon in a material that underpins more than half of global construction. It maps out both what’s achievable now and what’s coming next, from enhanced electric-arc furnace production and scrap optimization to the medium-term potential of hydrogen-based direct reduced iron and carbon capture.
Beyond high-level generalities, though, the paper digs into the specifics of how that trajectory is already playing out on real projects: a Chicago office tower cut steel tonnage by 9 percent through optimized grade selection, and a London building reused 87 metric tons of structural steel outright. Together, these examples illustrate embodied-carbon reductions of up to 30 percent, achievable today through the four Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle, and remanufacture.
Webinar on Thursday, 8 October 2026
A moderated discussion with constructsteel leaders on the paper’s findings and what they mean for project teams today will occur in an accompanying webinar on Thursday, October 8, at 8:00 AM CDT/3:00 PM CEST.
We invite you to join the conversation.
The webinar is free to attend but registration is required.