Steel's Recyclability: Demonstrating the Benefits of Recycling Steel to Achieve a Circular Economy PDF

Int J Life Cycle Assess DOI 10.1007/s11367-016-1081-1 LCA OF METALS AND METAL PRODUCTS: THEORY, METHOD AND PRACTICE Steel’s recyclability: demonstrating the benefits of recycling steel to achieve a circular economy Clare Broadbent 1 Received: 25 May 2015 / Accepted: 25 February 2016 # The Aut...

Int J Life Cycle Assess DOI 10.1007/s11367-016-1081-1 LCA OF METALS AND METAL PRODUCTS: THEORY, METHOD AND PRACTICE Steel’s recyclability: demonstrating the benefits of recycling steel to achieve a circular economy Clare Broadbent 1 Received: 25 May 2015 / Accepted: 25 February 2016 # The Author(s) 2016. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract recycling from end-of-life products. It considers the recycling Purpose In a world where the population is expected to peak of scrap into new steel as closed material loop recycling, and at around 9 billion people in the next 30 to 40 years, carefully thus, recycling steel scrap avoids the production of primary managing our finite natural resources is becoming critical. We steel. The methodology developed shows that for every 1 kg must abandon the outdated ‘take, make, consume and dispose’ of steel scrap that is recycled at the end of the products life, a mentality and move toward a circular economy model for saving of 1.5 kg CO2-e emissions, 13.4 MJ primary energy optimal resource efficiency. Products must be designed for and 1.4 kg iron ore can be achieved. This equates to 73, 64 and reuse and remanufacturing, which would reduce significant 90 %, respectively, when compared to 100 % primary costs in terms of energy and natural resources. production. Methods To measure progress in achieving a circular econo- Conclusions Incorporating this recycling methodology into a my, we need a life cycle approach that measures the social, full LCA demonstrates how the steel industry is an integral economic and environmental impact of a product throughout part of the circular economy model which promotes zero its full life cycle—from raw material extraction to end-of-life waste; a reduction in the amount of materials used and encour- (EoL) recycling or disposal. Life cycle thinking must become ages the reuse and recycling of materials. a key requirement for all manufacturing decisions, ensuring that the most appropriate material is chosen for the specific Keywords Circular economy. Cradle to grave. LCA. application, considering all aspects of a products’ life. The Recycling. Steel steel industry has been developing LCI data for 20 years. This is used to assess a product’s environmental performance from steel production to steel recycling at end-of-life. The 1 Introduction steel industry has developed a methodology to show the ben- efits of using recycled steel to make new products. Using 1.1 The circular economy recycled materials also carries an embodied burden that should be considered when undertaking a full LCA. Steel is everywhere in our lives and is at the heart of a sus- Results and discussion The recycling methodology is in ac- tainable future. The steel industry is an integral part of the cordance with ISO 14040/44:2006 and considers the environ- global circular economy. The circular economy is a move mental burden of using steel scrap and the benefit of scrap from linear business models, in which products are manufactured from raw materials and then discarded at the Responsible editor: Andrea J. Russell-Vaccari end of their useful lives, to circular business models where intelligent design leads to products or their parts being * Clare Broadbent repaired, reused, returned and recycled (World Economic [email protected] Forum 2014). A circular economy aims to rebuild capital, whether it is financial, manufacturing, human, social or natu- 1 World Steel Association, 120 rue Colonel Bourg, ral. This approach enhances the flow of goods and services 1140 Brussels, Belgium (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2014). The concept of the  Int J Life Cycle Assess circular economy drives optimal resource efficiency. It makes method because the benefits of metals recycling are only sure that resources are efficiently allocated to products and taken into account on the input side (considered as being services in such a way as to maximise the economic well- ‘free’) and recycling at end-of-life is neglected regardless being of everyone. In addition, products need to be designed of recycling rate. From a policy perspective, this method to be durable, easy to repair and, ultimately, to be recycled. leads to a focus on increasing the percentage of recycled The cost of reusing, repairing or remanufacturing products has materials in the product. Figure 1 shows how the cut-off to be competitive to encourage these practices. Simply replac- approach would be applied throughout the life cycle. ing a product with a new one should no longer be the norm. – End-of-life approach (0–100) A circular economy ensures that value is maintained within The end-of-life approach takes an overall approach to a product when it reaches the end of its useful life while at the recycling as it considers the assignment of environmental same time reducing or eliminating waste. This idea is funda- impacts and credits between different product systems mental to the triple-bottom-line concept of sustainability, across different life cycles and the environmental impact which focuses on the interplay between environmental, social of the product system is dependent on the recycling rate at and economic factors. In a well-structured circular economy, end-of-life. Where a material is recycled at end-of-life, the steel industry has significant competitive advantages over the product system is credited with an avoided burden competing materials and these can be demonstrated through a based on the reduced requirement for virgin material pro- life cycle approach. duction in the next life cycle. Equally, any recycled con- tent adds the same burden to the product system, per 1.2 Life cycle assessment in the steel industry kilogram of steel scrap, in order to share the burden with the previous life cycle. This method is also known as the The World Steel Association (worldsteel) has been developing closed material loop method because recycling saves the a database of life cycle inventories (LCI) of steel products for production of virgin material with the same properties. more than 20 years together with an externally reviewed meth- From a policy perspective, this method encourages the odology report. This LCI database of 15 steel products ac- recycling of products at the end of their life. Figure 2 counts for the cradle to gate steel production, including raw shows how this approach would be applied for each stage material mining and manufacturing, as well as accounting for of the life cycle; the impacts from the disposal of steel, if the benefits of recycling steel from products at the end of their any, are negligible. Note that the amount of scrap used in life. This database and methodology assist LCA practitioners the production of steel is typically lower than the amount modelling steel products to carry out full cradle to grave life of scrap recycled at end-of-life in the primary production cycle assessments. This report demonstrates what approaches route or for the secondary production route in the cases are currently available for including recycling in LCA and the where a large amount of direct reduced iron or hot metal rationale for the approach that the steel industry has decided to is used. use based on the closed material loop recycling methodology. – The 50:50 method A detailed account of the methodology is provided, which This method falls half way in between the cut-off demonstrates the environmental value of recycling steel from approach and end-of-life approach. For this reason, it products when they reach the end of their useful life. 2 Current practice for recycling methodologies 2.1 Existing recycling methodologies The three main approaches to recycling which form the basis for many discussions are the following: – Cut-off approach (100–0) The cut-off approach considers the impacts and/or benefits of recycling that only occur within the product system being studied. There is no crediting or assignment of environmental impacts between different product sys- tems, and metal scrap at the point of discard is considered to have no upstream environmental impacts beyond re- Fig. 1 Cut-off approach for a product system that uses virgin metal and melting. This is also known as the recycled content recycled metal inputs Int J Life Cycle Assess products at the end of their life and therefore reduces waste going to landfill and saves the use of natural resources in creating new products—these are both key to a circular economy. The European Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint standard is currently in the pilot phase, and one of the aspects of this phase is to assess the methodology that has been defined for the end-of-life of products. This is being addressed by the different pilot projects including the metals industries. 2.2 Steel recycling practice In the manufacture of steel, the term ‘primary production’ generally refers to the manufacture of iron (hot metal) from Fig. 2 End-of-life approach for a product system that uses both primary iron ore in a blast furnace (BF), which is subsequently proc- and recycled steel inputs essed in the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) to make steel. ‘Secondary production’ refers to the ‘recycling’ route and is is seen as a compromise method, which credits both typically the electric arc furnace (EAF) process, which con- recycled content and end-of-life recycling. This verts scrap into new steel by re-melting old steel. However, method, although a compromise, can be a solution primary steel production is not unique to the BOF route, and for systems where it is not clear if it is beneficial to similarly, secondary steel production is not unique to the EAF. provide incentives for recycled content or recycling It is common practice to use 10–30 % scrap as iron input in the at end-of-life. BOF route. Primary steel production also occurs in the EAF route, when pre-reduced iron is used as a feedstock to the EAF In addition, there are multiple frameworks that address the process. This is demonstrated in Fig. 3. incorporation of the benefits of recycling at the end of a prod- Steel is 100 % recyclable and scrap is converted to the same uct’s life. Some examples of such publications are the (or higher or lower) grade steel depending upon the metallur- following: gy and processing of the required product. Some recycled products such as rebar require minimal processing, whilst – World Resources Institute/World Business Council for the higher value engineering steels require more metallurgical Sustainable Development standards developed under the and process controls to meet tighter specifications. The final GHG Protocol Initiative (The Greenhouse Gas Protocol economic value of the product is not determined by recycled 2004) content, and there are many examples of high value products – PAS 2050: Publicly Available Specification 2050: that contain large amounts of recycled steel. Some steel prod- Specification for the assessment of the life cycle green- ucts are principally sourced via the primary route mainly be- house gas emissions of goods and services (British cause the steel specifications require low residual elements Standards Institute 2008) and this can be achieved most cost-effectively using more – EN 15804: Sustainability of construction works primary material. In most cases, scrap with a low amount of (European Committee for Standardisation 2013) residual elements commands a higher market price owing to – ISO TS 14067: Carbon footprint of products (ISO TS the ease of processing through the recycling routes. 14067 2013) The growing global demand for steel results in a con- – ILCD: The European Commission’s International tinuing capacity to absorb steel scrap. There is not enough Reference Life Cycle Data System Handbook scrap arising to manufacture all the steel required to sat- (European Commission 2010) isfy the market. This is not a consequence of deficiencies – The European Commission’s Product Environmental in collecting scrap as the recovery rates of steel products Footprint (European Commission 2013) are high and the lifetime of products is often long. Moving towards a circular economy, if more scrap be- The Declaration by the Metals Industry on Recycling comes available, this could result in an increase in the Principles (Atherton et al. 2007) clearly defines the distinction proportion of steel made in the EAF route. Continuing between the recycled content approach and the end-of-life improvements in the scrap processing plants and segrega- approach and why the latter is supported by the metals indus- tion of scrap types will improve efficiencies in the steel- try. The end-of-life approach encourages the recycling of making process.  Int J Life Cycle Assess Fig. 3 Connection between primary and secondary steel production 3 Worldsteel’s rationale for the chosen recycling The choice of recycling methodology can depend on not approach only the goal and scope of the study but also the recycling system for the material used in the product life cycle. In the The worldsteel LCI data collection methodology covers steel worldsteel methodology, the rationale for applying the closed production from cradle to gate and in addition takes account of material loop method as default is that recycling of steel scrap in the following ways: 1. Steel scrap has significant economic value, so scrap is & Allocation for scrap inputs to the steelmaking process recovered, and it will be used for recycling. There is no & Allocation for steel scrap outputs from whole product sys- need to create a demand for recycled material as this is tem (e.g. scrap arising from an end-of-life building or already well established. vehicle) 2. Steel is recycled in a closed material loop; the inherent properties of the primary and secondary product are Where systems have both scrap inputs and outputs, it is equivalent, and thus, secondary material displaces prima- necessary to apply consistent allocation procedures to both, ry production. as is described in the worldsteel method. 3. The magnitude of steel recycling is driven by end-of-life This methodology is reviewed to conform to ISO recycling rates and an end-of-life approach captures the 14044: 2006, which sets out allocation procedures for impact of different recycling rates, regions and end- reuse and recycling. Within this standard, a distinction product categories. is made between open and closed loop recycling. Open 4. The demand for steel scrap exceeds the availability of the loop recycling is used to describe product systems where scrap. This is magnified partly due to the long lifetime of material is recycled into a new different product or where steel products. Designing products for easier end-of-life inherent material properties change. Closed loop disassembly and recycling will enable more steel scrap to recycling applies to products that are recycled to produce be recycled. the same product type or where the inherent material properties do not change. Where inherent material prop- Using the closed material loop methodology, recovered erties do not change, this is also known as closed mate- steel scrap for recycling is usually allocated a credit (or bene- rial loop recycling. fit). When scrap is used in the manufacture of a new product, The vast majority of steel recycling involves re-melting there is an allocation (or debit) associated with the scrap input. scrap to produce new steels with no change in the inherent In this way, the benefit of net scrap arising or the debit of net properties of the basic steel material, and therefore, steel scrap input can be accounted. Based on guidance from ISO recycling can be regarded as closed loop. In this situation, 14044:2006, this scrap is allocated a value associated with ISO 14044:2006 states that ‘in such cases, the need for allo- avoided impacts such as an alternative source of equivalent cation is avoided since the use of secondary material displaces (virgin) ferrous metal. the use of virgin (primary) materials’. This guidance provides In the case of steel, the best approximation for the virgin the basis for the ‘closed material loop’ recycling methodology product replaced by using scrap is the first recognisable steel employed by worldsteel, which is used to deal with scrap product, which is cast steel or steel slab. Secondary steel from inputs and outputs, and is recommended to be used for all scrap (in the EAF route) avoids primary steel from the BOF LCA studies containing steel. route. With this approach, the allocation for scrap needs to be Int J Life Cycle Assess adjusted to take account of the scrap/steel yield associated are equal, per kilogram, and that all scrap is treated equally. In with secondary steel making. reality, there are numerous grades of steel products, and there- The worldsteel methodology follows the end-of-life ap- fore, steel scrap grades and a combination of these scrap types proach because it accounts for the full life cycle of a product, are used when making steel. It has not been feasible to calcu- from cradle to grave, the grave being the furnace into which late an LCI for each scrap grade, but this could be addressed in the steel scrap is recycled. the future. As the use of scrap replaces the production of crude steel, and not a finished steel product, it is appropriate to assume a generic scrap grade for the purpose of these calcu- 4 Worldsteel methodology for scrap recycling lations. For coated or galvanised scrap grades, this will result in an overestimation of the burden for the scrap input (the The worldsteel methodology for the use of steel scrap in the yield will be lower) so will give more conservative results. steelmaking process and the production of steel scrap at the Collecting scrap at the end of the product’s life and end-of-life of a product is described in detail in the following recycling it through the steel making process enables the sav- sections. ing of primary, virgin steel production. This is commonly referred to as the integrated or BOF steel 4.1 Terminology required making route, but in reality, some steel scrap is always re- quired in the process as it acts as a coolant in order to maintain A number of parameters relating to steel and recycling which the thermal balance in the process. Thus, there is no process will be used in the following equations are as follows: using 100 % virgin material (with 0 % scrap input), and this theoretical value therefore needs to be calculated (see Sect. 1. Recovery rate (RR): the fraction of steel recovered as 6.3). scrap during the lifetime of a steel product, including Furthermore, it is not the scrap itself that replaces this pri- scrap generated after manufacturing the steel product un- mary steel, as the scrap needs to be processed or recycled to der analysis. A value of 85 % has been used in Eq. 11. make new steel. The EAF process is an example of 100 % 2. Metallic yield (Y): the process yield (or efficiency) of the scrap recycling, though some EAFs also use hot metal or EAF. It is the ratio of steel output to scrap input (i.e. >1-kg direct reduced iron (DRI) as an input to the process. scrap is required to produce 1-kg steel). This is calculated Finally, the EAF process is not 100 % efficient, i.e. it needs using Eq. 4 as 1.092 based on worldsteel data published in more than 1 kg of scrap to make 1-kg steel. 2010. The LCI associated with the scrap, ScrapLCI, is thus 3. LCI for BOF steel production (XBOF): the LCI for steel equal to the credit associated with the avoided primary production from the BOF, which includes scrap. The val- production of steel (assuming 0 % scrap input), minus ue used in Eq. 8 of 1.756 kg CO2 is from the worldsteel the burden associated with the recycling of steel scrap to data published in 2010. make new steel, multiplied by the yield of this process 4. LCI for primary steel production (Xpr): the theoretical LCI (see Fig. 4) to consider losses in the process (see for 100 % primary metal production, from the BOF route, Sect. 4.1 for definitions): assuming 0 % scrap input.
5. LCI for secondary steel production (Xre): the LCI for ScrapLCI ¼ X pr −X re Y ð1Þ 100 % secondary metal production from scrap in the EAF, assuming scrap = 100 %. The value used in Eq. 8 The letter X in each of these terms refers to any LCI param- of 0.386 kg CO2 is from the worldsteel data published in eter, e.g. natural gas, CO2 and water. The CO2 for scrap would 2010. be calculated as follows: 6. The letter X in each of these terms refers to any LCI
parameter, e.g. natural gas, CO2, water and limestone. CO2 Scrap ¼ CO2pr −CO2re Y ð2Þ 7. S is the amount of scrap used in the steelmaking process to make a specific product. The value of 0.121 kg used in Eq. 11 for hot rolled coil is from the worldsteel data pub- 1 kg scrap lished in 2010. 4.2 The LCI of steel scrap Y kg steel produced The methodology assumes the burdens of scrap input and the credits for recycling the steel at the end of the life of a product Fig. 4 The yield of the EAF process  Int J Life Cycle Assess Y is the process yield of the EAF (i.e. >1-kg scrap is re- This would then give the following: quired to produce 1-kg steel)     The values for Xre and Y are known by the industry as these ScrapBO F
ScrapBO F values come from the steel producers. However, the theoreti- X BO F ¼ 1− X pr þ X re ð6Þ Scrapre Scrapre cal value of Xpr needs to be calculated. Rearranging this equation will enable the theoretical value 4.3 Theoretical value of 100 % primary BOF steel, Xpr for 100 % primary steel to be calculated:   ScrapBO F The theoretical value of 100 % primary steel is calculated X BO F − X re Scrapre based on the LCI of steel slab made by the primary, or BOF X pr ¼ ð7Þ ScrapBO F route. As the steel slab contains a certain amount of scrap, this 1− needs to be ‘removed’ from the LCI so that only virgin steel is Scrapre accounted for, see Fig. 5a. This value for Xpr can now be included in the scrap LCI The scrap input to the BOF process (m kg scrap per 1-kg equation and will therefore be applied to each of the inputs and steel produced) that needs to be removed would be melted in outputs of the LCI. The values that have been used are based the EAF process producing mY kg steel, Y being the yield of on the current worldsteel LCI data collection. the steelmaking process. Therefore, the theoretical 100 % pri-   mary route, Xpr, needs to produce 1-mY kg steel, see Fig. 5b. 0:119 1:756− 0:386 In effect, 1:092 X pr ¼ ð8Þ 0:119
1 − X BO F ¼ ð1−mY Þ X pr þ mY X re ð3Þ 1:092 Xpr ¼ 1:92 kg CO2 where m is the scrap input to the BOF route (ScrapBOF) and Y is the inverse of the scrap input to the EAF, Scrapre, i.e. It should be noted that if an extrapolation was carried out in order to determine the theoretical value for Xpr with zero scrap 1 Y ¼ ð4Þ input, based on the values of XBOF and Xre, the same values Scrapre would be reached for Xpr of 1.92 kg CO2. Figure 6 plots the Therefore, global EAF steel value which is based solely on steel scrap, together with the global BOF steel value which contains near- ScrapBO F ly 12 % scrap. Extrapolating this to a value of zero scrap input mY ¼ ð5Þ Scrapre gives this value of 1.92 kg CO2. Fig. 5 a Determination of the a theoretical value of 100 % primary BOF steel, Xpr. b XBOF Theoretical value of 100 % primary BOF steel, Xpr mkg scrap input Xpr Xre = + 1 kg steel produced 1 – mY kg steel produced mY kg steel produced b XBOF Xpr Xre mkg scrap input = - 1 – mY kg steel produced 1 kg steel produced mY kg steel produced Int J Life Cycle Assess Fig. 6 Extrapolation to show 1.5 CO2 emissions for 0 % scrap input Global EAF steel (Scrapre ) Scrap input kg 1 0.5 Global BOF steel (ScrapBOF) Extrapolation for 0% scrap input 0 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 CO CO 22 em em issions, issions, kg kg And for CO2, the equation would be as follows (i.e. for scrap has been included, this means that the scrap LCI can X = CO2): then be calculated.
ScrapLCI ¼ X pr −X re Y 1 ð9Þ 4.5 Applying the scrap LCI burden and credit ScrapLCI ¼ ½1:92−0:386 1:092 Scrap LCI ¼ 1:405kg CO2 The scrap LCI, defined in Eq. (1) as ScrapLCI = (Xpr − Xre)Y, is applied to the steel product cradle to gate LCIs in order to include the end-of-life phase. A credit is given for the amount 4.4 Summary of scrap LCI calculations of steel scrap that will be recycled at the end-of-life of the product, and this is referred to as RR. However, in doing this, The methodology for determining the LCI for steel scrap, as a burden needs to be applied to any scrap that is used in the described in Sects. 6.2 and 6.3, is summarised in Fig. 7. The steelmaking process, referred to as S. figure uses CO2 as an example and includes the scrap inputs to Thus, the LCI of a product, from cradle to gate including the EAF and BOF processes to calculate the LCI for each end-of-life (LCIincluding EoL), can be calculated as production route when including a burden for the scrap. As
the impact if the two routes can be equated when the burden LCI includingE oL ¼ X −ðRR−S Þ X pr −X re Y ð10Þ Fig. 7 Overview of scrap LCI Measured Measured calculations 0.119kg 1.092kg Scrap: Y kg scrap Iron ore ScrapBOF kg Xre EAF BOF XBOF 0.386kg 1.756kg Measured Measured Steel Slab 1 kg slab 1 kg slab LCIre = Xre + Y*Scrap LCI LCIBOF = XBOF + Scrap BOF *Scrap LCI = 0.386 + 1.092*Scrap LCI = 1.756 + 0.119*Scrap LCI Here, LCI re = LCIBOF 0.386 + 1.092*Scrap LCI = 1.756 + 0.119*Scrap LCI Scrap LCI = 1.41kg CO2  Int J Life Cycle Assess Iron ore 0.121 kg scrap that once they have been reused or remanufactured, the steel parts can easily enter into the recycling stream, reducing the need for primary raw materials. Steel producon However, due to the long life of steel products, the amount of steel in stock is a limiting factor in terms of what is available 1kg Hot Rolled Coil for recycling. Therefore, it is necessary to continue with pri- mary steel production in order to meet the demands for steel. Product manufacture, In addition, as more scrap is being used, attention must be paid use, maintenance and to the proper sorting of the scrap to ensure that the higher final disposal quality steel grades can be achieved. The steel industry is currently looking into product-related indicators, and this can incorporate indicators that address the Steel scrap from system for recycling = 0.85 kg circularity of steel in product applications. An indicator reflecting the benefits of recycling steel at the end of its life would show the contribution of using recyclable materials to Fig. 8 Example cradle to grave system achieve a circular economy. There is scope for the steel industry to engage with its where X is the LCI of the product being studied and is cradle to customers to improve the yield during the manufacturing pro- gate, i.e. including all upstream as well as steel production. cesses as well as to design products which are easier to reuse, The term (RR − S) is also known as the net scrap that is gen- remanufacture and recycle. Scrap collection facilities should erated from the product system. When this value is negative be improved to continue to increase the amount of scrap that is that implies that there is more scrap consumed to make the being recovered. Ongoing efforts to improve the environmen- steel than is recycled from the product at the end-of-life. tal performance of steel production are also the key. This will In order to calculate the LCI of a steel product, including all contribute to the goal of achieving a circular economy. end-of-life recycling, an example for CO2 emissions is shown in Fig. 8 and Eq. (11), for global hot rolled coil, using an end- of-life recycling rate of 85 %. This gives a net scrap value of Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative 0.85 − 0.121 = 0.729 kg. Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http:// The value of scrap, (Xpr − Xre)Y, has been calculated above, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appro- and the CO2 emissions and scrap content of hot rolled coil are priate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the provided from the global average data published in February Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. 2010. New data will be available at the end of 2015. LCI includingE oL ¼ 1:889−ð0:85−0:121Þ*1:405 ð11Þ LCI includingE oL ¼ 0:86kgCO2 References CO2 is used in this example as it is one of the most com- Atherton J et al (2007) Declaration by the metals industry on recycling monly used LCI flows. The same calculation method applies principles. Int J Life Cycle Assess 12(1):59–60 to all inputs and outputs of the LCI. BSI British Standards Institute (2008) PAS 2050^Specification for the measurement of the embodied greenhouse gas emissions of products and services^ on Carbon footprinting. And: BSI British Standards (with DEFRA and Carbon Trust) (2008). Guide to PAS 2050 - How 5 Conclusions to assess the carbon footprint of goods and services. ISBN 978-0- 580-64636-2 The steel industry is an integral part of the circular economy Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2014) www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org model, and steel has fundamental advantages as a material in European Commission (2010) European platform on LCAhttp://eplca.jrc. ec.europa.eu/ achieving this goal. The promotion of zero waste, reducing the European Commission (2013) Product environmental footprint, http://ec. amount of resources and energy used, making products that europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/product_footprint.htm are easier to reuse or remanufacture, and finally being able to European Committee for Standardisation (2013) CEN TC 350: sustain- recycle steel from all parts of a products life make steel an ability of construction works essential material for the future. The methodology described ISO TS 14067 (2013) Carbon footprint of products here addresses the recycling aspect of the circular economy as The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (2004) World Resources Institute/World Business Council for Sustainable Development: Corporate Standard well as the zero waste aspect. By demonstrating the benefits of and Product Standard developed under the GHG Protocol Initiative recycling steel, it is evident that this practise should be encour- World Economic Forum (2014) Scoping paper: mining and metals in a aged and enabled through improved design of products, so sustainable world