Sustainable development

Making a positive contribution

We make a significant contribution to society in a variety of ways – through the employment we provide; as a result of the inherent social and environmental advantages of the products we supply; and in our positive interaction with the communities around our sites.

Lighter, stronger, durable, reusable and recyclable products

The intrinsic advantages of both steel and aluminium equip them for a wide range of applications. Steel’s excellent mechanical properties, combined with its high strength, contribute to improved safety performance. Aluminium offers lightweight solutions to design problems, allowing for products that use less raw material and energy.

Our products are durable, adaptable, reusable and recyclable. They are essential to modern life – for example they are used in affordable and energy-efficient modular homes, as well as in lighter, stronger and safer transport systems. Through our research and development activities, we are continuing to develop products which give additional social and environmental benefits to our customers and society as a whole.

Recycling is sometimes promoted by new product ‘minimum recycled content’ criteria; the intention being to boost the market for recycled materials. However, economic incentives to recycle already exist for steel and aluminium and high recycling rates are already achieved.

The steel and aluminium in use today will be reused and recycled many times in the future. Around 40% of the world’s production of ‘new’ steel is, in fact, made from recycled steel without any loss of quality.

Sustainable solutions

The following are examples of how our products contribute to sustainable development through improved quality of life and reduced environmental impact are provided in the following sections.