A coalition of signatories, consisting of Recycling Europe, the European Environmental Bureau and the European Waste Management Association, has called for a more ambitious green steel label under the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), while supporting the methodology developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC).
The signatories stated that the JRC’s technology-neutral, cradle-to-gate approach and fixed emissions thresholds would encourage investment in low-carbon steelmaking technologies and recognize the decarbonization benefits of recycled steel scrap.
According to the statement, the methodology would support production routes such as hydrogen-based direct reduced iron-electric arc furnace (DRI-EAF) steelmaking and help reduce dependence on imported iron ore by promoting the use of recycled steel scrap, which is widely available in Europe. The coalition argued that adopting a different methodology at this stage could delay implementation of the green steel label and create additional uncertainty for investors.
Concerns raised over performance class thresholds
Despite supporting the methodology, the groups expressed concerns that the proposed product-specific performance classes are not ambitious enough. According to the statement, the current thresholds would not sufficiently incentivize investment in low-carbon and fossil-free steelmaking technologies and would fail to clearly distinguish the best-performing products based on carbon footprint.
Using hot rolled coil as an example, the coalition noted that performance class B covers products with emissions of 1.79-2.66 mt CO₂e per metric ton, while the average emissions intensity of the EU blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace route is around 1.9 mt CO₂e per metric ton. As a result, the signatories argued that many existing installations would already qualify for class B and gain access to green public procurement without making additional emissions reductions.
Call for stricter eligibility criteria
For wire rod, the coalition stated that performance class B includes mainly imported natural gas-based DRI-EAF and BF-BOF products, while much of European production already relies on electric arc furnaces. The signatories argued that fossil-based production routes should not qualify for classes A and B.
The coalition proposed narrowing the share of products eligible for classes A and B in public procurement. It recommended that only the top 10 percent most sustainable steel products should qualify for these categories and that the threshold between classes B and C should be set at 400 kg CO₂e per metric ton of crude steel. According to the statement, the current proposal, which covers 30 percent of products, would allow carbon-intensive steel products to receive a green label.
The groups stated that raising the ambition of the performance classes would better reward genuinely low-carbon and fossil-free steel products while encouraging further decarbonization investments in the European steel industry.
