​1.5° path

Emission reduction path that leads to 1.5° Celsius global warming compared to pre-industrial levels - ambition of the Paris Agreement.

​Abatement

Combination of avoidance, reduction and removal. The term is used only in abatement curve.

​Blast Furnace

Blast Furnace is one of the two predominant production pathways for steel, especially in Europe and Asia. The emissions of the Blast Furnace are more than twice those of the Electric Arc Furnace.

​Breakthrough technologies

Technologies that produce low-carbon steel in a radically different way to the conventional Blast Furnace, DRI or EAF technology.

​Climate Neutral / Net-Zero

State when a company's activities have no net effect on the climate. This includes that residual GHG emissions that cannot be eliminated are removed from the atmosphere. Climate Neutral and Net-Zero are typically used interchangeably: Climate Neutral also takes into account regional or local bio-geophysical effects on the climate, however these do not exist for most companies.1

​Climate Positive

State when a company's activities remove more GHG from the atmosphere than it emits.

​Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF)

CO2-emissions of a company in a given year along the entire value chain.

​Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Integration of social and environmental concerns in business operations of a company and its interactions with stakeholders.

​Direct Reduced Iron

Direct reduced iron is produced from iron ore via direct reduction. A gas or an elemental carbon usually serves as reductant. In the past, this has typically been natural gas or coal. In the future this might be Hydrogen.

​Electric Arc Furnace

Electric Arc Furnace is one of the two predominant production pathways for steel. In the US it is even more common than the Blast Furnace route, which dominates in Europe and Asia. The emissions of the Electric Arc Furnace are around 45% less than those of the Blast Furnace.

​Emissions

Short term for greenhouse gas emissions.

​Environmental/Social/Governance (ESG)

Non-financial factors in a company's strategy and reporting, increasing focus of investors when evaluating company performance.

​Greenhouse Gases (GHG)

Greenhouse Gases include CO2, CH4, N2O, HCFs, PFCs, SF6, NF3.1

Greenhouse Gas Protocol

The GHG Protocol is the leading carbon accounting body and headed by the World Resources Institute. It closely collaborates with the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Science Based Target initiative.

​Green Steel

GHG are physically removed or sequestered from the atmosphere as a result of a specific intervention, e.g., carbon capture & storage, growing forests.1

​Greenwashing

Refers to the act of making false or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service, technology, etc.

​Hydrogen

Through the use of new technologies, hydrogen is a key vector that will allow GHG emissions from the iron and steel sector to be significantly reduced.

​Life-Cycle Assessment

Assessment of the environmental impact of a product during its life cycle.

​Offsetting 

​(= Compensation = Neutralisation)

Procurement of offsetting certificates for emission abatement elsewhere and use of these certificates to count against own carbon footprint. Offsetting cannot be deducted from the corporate carbon footprint but needs to be reported separately. It does not count towards physical CO2-reduction needed to comply with science-based targets.2 

Paris Agreement

Legally binding international treaty signed in 2015 to limit global warming to well-below-two, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this, countries aim to make the world climate neutral by mid-century.3 

​Product Carbon Footprint

CO2-emissions of a product during its life cycle.

​Reduction

Emissions to the atmosphere are reduced, i. e. a process or activity physically emits fewer or no greenhouse gases

​Removal

GHG are physically removed or sequestered from the atmosphere as a result of a specific intervention, e.g., carbon capture & storage, growing forests1

SBTi

Science Based Target initiative. The leading certification of corporate decarbonization targets. It closely collaborates with the Carbon Disclosure Project and the GHG Protocol.

Scope 1

Direct emissions from a company's own facilities and from company vehicles.2

Scope 2

Indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heating & cooling for own use.2

Scope 3 Upstream

Indirect emissions from supply chain (purchased goods and services, transportation and distribution, business travel, etc.). 2

Scope 3 Downstream

Indirect emissions from the use of the product (incl. distribution, end-of-life, etc.). 2

​Well-below-two degrees (WB2D/1.75°) path

Emission reduction path that leads to well-below-two-degrees Celsius global warming compared to pre-industrial levels, as targeted in the Paris Agreement.

​Zero Carbon Steel

Steel that needs to be produced without any CO2 emissions at all. This is a very high bar to reach, and it is difficult to conceive of a production technology that could achieve this in the short-term.