Tata Steel proudly announces it has joined forces with global steel-making standards organisation ResponsibleSteel, giving customers and consumers even more confidence that the company is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as creating jobs and protecting communities.

All of Tata Steel’s operations in 26 countries have signed up to ResponsibleSteel, the industry’s first globally-present standards and certification scheme for sustainability. Tata Steel is one of the largest steelmakers in the world to become a member.

The move is a further demonstration to the company’s customers of its commitment to acting responsibly in all of its activities, from looking after its workforce to managing the environmental impact of its steelmaking operations, from respecting and supporting its local communities to greening its supply chain. Through this early membership, Tata Steel will be supporting the further development of the ResponsibleSteel standards used to guide the sector’s future actions.

Tata Steel Europe CEO, Henrik Adam, said: “As part of the Tata Steel family, this membership gives our customers even greater confidence that they are buying their products from a company which is committed to responsible business practices. That is important because it is increasingly what consumers are quite rightly expecting of them. ResponsibleSteel also provides us with a framework through which we will achieve our mission to build the leading European steel business that is sustainable in every sense.”

At Tata Steel we believe that global sustainable development goals are best achieved through leadership, transparency and collaboration across the value chain. The multi-stakeholder platform that ResponsibleSteel offers, including members from the whole value chain is excellently positioned for such collaboration. Membership of ResponsibleSteel builds on and is complementary to Tata Steel’s existing international responsible sourcing framework, BES6001 certification that covers our full automotive product portfolio.”

Sander Heinhuis, Head of Automotive Marketing at Tata Steel, said: “The automotive supply chain contains some of the biggest and most valuable global brands and it is society’s expectation that we take a lead in sustainability and supply chain responsibility. Through membership of ResponsibleSteel, I believe that Tata Steel not only demonstrates real leadership and commitment, but also the ability and expertise to work in multi-stakeholder partnerships to bring about real global change”.

Ali Lucas, Executive Director, ResponsibleSteel, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Tata Steel as a business member of ResponsibleSteel. As one of the world’s leading steel producers, Tata Steel brings huge depth, breadth and influence to help us achieve our mission and goals.”

She added: “Working within the world’s largest materials industry – responsible for more than 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions – ResponsibleSteel represents members from every stage of the steel supply chain. Businesses from multinational mining organisations, global steel producers, processors and end users, as well as civil society, are working with us to find solutions to producing steel in a responsible way. As the world’s only multi-stakeholder standard and certification initiative for the steel sector, we work by building collaborative relationships that create real impact for both the planet and society. We know that the clock is ticking in both finding and implementing solutions to the global environmental crisis. Working with Tata Steel will help us significantly accelerate our vision towards a world where only responsible low CO2 steel is produced.”

The announcement comes after Tata Steel outlined its future-facing strategy earlier this year that is already moving the company into the next era of manufacturing in the automotive industry. In the short-, medium- and long-term, Tata Steel is leading the way by focussing on three key pillars, namely: Electrification, autonomous driving and shared use; Digitalisation and service offering; and Sustainability.