Corporate

Greenhouse Gases

Steelmaking, by its very nature, generates significant volumes of greenhouse gases, through the use of coal and coke as both chemical reductant and energy source in the iron making process.

The energy sources used for steelmaking in Australia are primarily coal-based, reflecting Australia's natural competitive advantage in access to significant coal resources. The steel industry in Australia does not utilise nuclear energy as an alternative energy source, as do steelmakers in the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Japan and the United States of America.

The greenhouse intensity index is a means of measuring how many tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions are produced per tonne of steel produced. Our intensity is slightly lower than the previous year which reflects increased production and increased efficiency. For 2002/2003 the GII is 0.96, the lowest GII in the past decade. The improved performance in this area is due to improved productivity at Port Kembla Steelworks.

Australia produced less than 1% of the world's production of raw steel in 2002/03.

In 2002/03, BlueScope Steel's total greenhouse gas emissions from all global operations (excluding North Star BHP Steel) were 14.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Port Kembla Steelworks in New South Wales, Australia was the main source of emissions.

This represented an increase of 6 per cent on 2001/02, consistent with the 7 per cent increase in production for the year.

Responsibilities