Demand for Outokumpu’s Circle Green® products, which was launched in 2023, is steadily rising, Marc-Simon Schaar, chief financial officer of Finnish stainless steel producer Outokumpu told Fastmarkets on the sidelines of NYC Climate Week on Monday.
“Profitability and sustainability are not mutually exclusive,” Schaar said, and gave the example of consumer goods manufacturer Fiskars Group as one of the customers buying the Circle Green® product at a premium. Additionally, there is also interest from automotive companies including BMW and Mercedez-Benz, Schaar said.
The company has sold between 10,000-20,000 tonnes of the product since launch, mostly to European customers.
The uptake of the premium product has been slow in the United States as compared to Europe, Schaar said, adding that the impact of carbon emissions from Outokumpu’s regular stainless-steel offering is already low.
Outokumpu’s regular stainless-steel products generate 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of steel produced, Schaar said, which is lower than its competitors.
The investment in technology to lower carbon emissions is a “license to operate,” Schaar said on Monday. “If we do not invest, it will come back to us as a cost.”
“Who will pay the green steel premium? It is us; it is our planet,” Schaar said.
The CFO also highlighted that stainless steel producers in Europe and the US are struggling against imported stainless steel from China, which has a much higher carbon footprint.
“There should be a worldwide carbon tariff system,” Schaar said, arguing that it would incentivize producers to invest in decarbonizing the steel supply chain.
Fastmarkets’ monthly price assessment for stainless steel 304 cold-rolled sheet, fob mill US was $165.75 per hundredweight ($3,315 per short ton) on September 10, down by 2.21% from $169.50 per cwt on August 12 and down by 6.62% from $177.50 per cwt on July 10.
Published by: Rijuta Dey Bera
