Responsible Steel Certification

What is ResponsibleSteel?

ResponsibleSteel is a global multi-stakeholder certification standard for steel production sites and steel products. It is the first comprehensive certification programme for the steel industry, assessing environmental, social, and governance performance across 13 principles covering everything from climate change and emissions to biodiversity, human rights, and community engagement.

The standard was developed through a multi-stakeholder process involving steel producers, civil society organisations, downstream users (including construction), and certification bodies. It launched its site certification programme in 2021 and its product-level certification (International EPD) in 2023.

For construction, ResponsibleSteel provides an independently verified way to demonstrate that structural steel has been produced responsibly - covering not just carbon emissions but the full range of sustainability and ethical concerns.

The 13 principles

ResponsibleSteel certification assesses steel production sites against 13 principles. Each principle contains specific criteria with mandatory and stretch performance levels.

Topic	Detail
Corporate leadership	Governance, ethics, and transparency
Social, environmental and governance management systems	Management frameworks and continuous improvement
Occupational health and safety	Worker safety performance and systems
Labour rights	Fair labour practices, freedom of association, no forced or child labour
Human rights	Due diligence on human rights impacts across the value chain
Stakeholder engagement and communication	Community engagement and grievance mechanisms
Local communities	Managing impacts on local communities, land rights, and indigenous peoples
Climate change and greenhouse gas emissions	Carbon intensity targets, reporting, and reduction plans
Noise, emissions, effluents and waste	Environmental management of production impacts
Water stewardship	Water use, discharge quality, and catchment-level stewardship
Biodiversity	Protection of biodiversity in mining, production, and supply chain operations
Decommissioning and closure	Planning for responsible site closure
Responsible sourcing of input materials	Due diligence on raw material supply chains (iron ore, coal, scrap, alloys)

Why it matters for construction

Steel is the second most carbon-intensive structural material after concrete, responsible for approximately 7% of global CO2 emissions. But carbon is only part of the picture. Steel supply chains involve mining, sometimes in regions with human rights concerns, and production processes that affect air and water quality in surrounding communities.

ResponsibleSteel addresses all of these dimensions in a single, audited certification. For construction specifiers, it provides assurance that goes well beyond what an EPD can tell you.

ResponsibleSteel

Audits the whole production site
Covers labour, community, and water stewardship
Chain of custody links product to certified site
Counts towards BREEAM and LEED sourcing credits

An EPD alone

Reports a product's carbon footprint
Silent on labour conditions and community impact
No assurance about site operations
Best used alongside site certification

Note. Major steel producers including ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel, SSAB, BlueScope, and POSCO have achieved or are pursuing ResponsibleSteel site certification. UK-relevant production from Tata Steel's European operations is covered.

How to specify ResponsibleSteel

Specifying ResponsibleSteel-certified steel is straightforward but requires engagement with the supply chain at the right stage.

Specifying ResponsibleSteel

1
Write it in
Require or prefer certified steel in steelwork specs
2
Engage contractors early
Discuss availability, lead times, and cost pre-construction
3
Request documentation
Chain-of-custody papers link delivered steel to certified site
4
Pair with EPDs
Sourcing assurance plus product-specific embodied carbon data
5
Claim credits
Counts for BREEAM Mat 03 and LEED sourcing