Rebar giant Nucor earns Climate Council emissions reduction certification

Sources: Nucor Corp., Charlotte, N.C.; CP staff

A top player in concrete reinforcing steel production and fabrication has attained Global Steel Climate Council certification for a carbon dioxide emissions reduction plan covering hot rolled steel through 2030. Nucor Corp. plans to achieve a goal of 0.975 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per metric ton of hot-rolled steel output by increasing the use of clean electricity, carbon capture and sequestration, and near-zero greenhouse gas iron making. The producer will also apply process technologies lowering consumption of natural gas as well as injection and charge carbon.

“Nucor is a global leader in low embodied carbon steel production, and they are proving that innovation and vision will drive the industry to meet the global community’s Net Zero by 2050 call to action. We congratulate Nucor for investing in initiatives that will see the company meet the ambitious interim and long-term targets that the GSCC has certified,” says Council Executive Director Adina Renee Adler.

Nucor Corp. rebar stock

In the GSCC certification submission, which was independently verified by SCS Global Services, Nucor uses a 2023 base year to set the 2030 CO2e/metric ton emissions target. In addition, the producer previously set a net-zero by 2050 target that entails achieving 0.116 metric tons of CO2e/metric ton of hot-rolled steel output, making it the first diversified steelmaker in the U.S. to set greenhouse gas emission reduction targets that include GHG Protocol-designated Scopes 1, 2, and 3—in essence, cradle to gate. The targets were set in compliance with the GSCC Steel Climate Standard, the 2050 objective of which Nucor’s long-term target exceeds.

“These targets and the certification provided by partners at GSCC further demonstrates our leadership in providing American made, low embodied carbon steel while also giving customers, investors, and policymakers confidence in our roadmap and strategy for achieving carbon reduction goals,” affirms Nucor Executive Vice President of Business Services, Sustainability and General Counsel Greg Murphy. 

Adopted in 2023 as a tool to measure and report steel carbon emissions, the Steel Climate Standard provides a framework for GSCC members to seek third-party verified certification of facility-specific products’ emissions intensity and to self-audit emissions yearly to demonstrate continuous decarbonization progress.

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