Interface News trainee reporter Tian Heqi
The steel industry is one of the pillars of the global economy and a significant source of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the sustainable development of the steel industry has always been a concern.
According to the list of "Top 500 Chinese Enterprises" released in September last year, there are 25 steel companies with revenues exceeding 100 billion yuan, of which the top 10 on the list are: China Baowu Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd., Hegang Group Co., Ltd., Tsingshan Holding Group Co., Ltd., Anshan Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd., Jingye Group Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Shagang Group Co., Ltd., Shougang Group Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd., Shanghai Delong Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd., and Beijing Jianlong Heavy Industry Group Co., Ltd.
Up to now, Baosteel Co., Ltd. (600019. SH), HBIS (000709. SZ), Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. (000898. SZ), Shougang Co., Ltd. (000959. SZ), Hangzhou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. (600126. SH) and Jianlong Group have both released their 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance and Sustainability Related Reports (hereinafter referred to as the ESG Report).
Shagang Group only released its 2022 social responsibility report last year, and Tsingshan Holdings, Jingye Group, and Delong Iron and Steel Group have not released ESG reports.
Judging from last year's output, Baosteel Co., Ltd. topped the list with 154 million tons, followed by Hegang Co., Ltd. with 81.37 million tons, Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. with 76.6843 million tons, Jianlong Group with 36.99 million tons, Shougang Co., Ltd. with 24.906 million tons, and Hangzhou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. with 4.523 million tons.
Overall, Baosteel's ESG report is the longest, with a total of 157 pages, disclosing the most key performance indicators. Angang's ESG report is the shortest, with 72 pages. HBIS, Shougang, Hangzhou Iron and Steel and Jianlong Group have 85 pages, 118 pages, 112 pages and 73 pages respectively. Among them, Jianlong Group disclosed the least number of key performance indicators, which were mostly described by cases.
All six companies disclosed their environmental commitments. Baosteel invested the highest amount of 16.505 billion yuan, including environmental protection expense investment and environmental protection capitalization project investment, while Shougang had the lowest investment of 838 million yuan. Baosteel's investment in environmental protection is about 20 times that of Shougang.
It was followed by Anshan Iron and Steel with 3.22 billion yuan, Jianlong Group with 1.97 billion yuan, Hegang with 1.61 billion yuan and Hangzhou Iron and Steel with 1.552 billion yuan.
Of the six companies, Baosteel, HBIS and Shougang disclosed their total greenhouse gas emissions, all of which included Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Angang said in the report that the carbon emission data in 2023 is expected to be disclosed in the next year's ESG report because it has not been verified by the Liaoning Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment.
Hangzhou Iron and Steel has a total of eight subsidiaries, including Ningbo Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Cloud Computing Data Center Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Hangzhou Iron and Steel Cloud Computing Data Center Co., Ltd., etc. Since the greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 have not been audited by a third party, this report discloses the greenhouse gas emissions of Ningbo Iron and Steel in 2022.
According to the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, an international emission accounting tool, Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions refer to the direct emissions generated by emission sources owned or controlled by enterprises, that is, directly related to the production process of enterprises, covering emissions from the consumption of bituminous coal, diesel, natural gas, gasoline, and process emissions from cement production. Scope 2 refers to indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heat or cold sources consumed by the company.
Specifically, Baosteel's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 will be 111 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, an increase of 3.89% year-on-year. Scope 1 is approximately 107 million tonnes of CO2e and Scope 2 is approximately 004 million tonnes of CO2e.
HBIS's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 are 53 million tonnes of CO2e, of which approximately 51 million tonnes of CO2e are for Scope 1 and 002 million tonnes for Scope 2. Its ESG report, released last year, did not disclose the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.
Shougang's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 will be 44 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, an increase of 3.53% year-on-year. Scope 1 is approximately 41 million tonnes of CO2e and Scope 2 is approximately 003 million tonnes of CO2e.
Baosteel, HBIS, Anshan Iron and Steel, and Hangzhou Iron and Steel have all announced their total water consumption in 2023, which will be 133 million tons, 4.607 billion tons, 86 million tons, and 14 million tons, respectively. Shougang disclosed its annual fresh water consumption of 69 million tons.
The "total annual water consumption" and "annual fresh water consumption" in a company's ESG report are not exactly the same, and the difference between the two is whether they include water sources that are not directly extracted.
Total annual water use may include fresh water use, but may also include water from other sources, such as reclaimed water, recycled water, etc. Fresh water consumption typically refers to the amount of water a business extracts directly from natural water sources (e.g., rivers, lakes, groundwater, etc.) over a period of year for production and daily operations.
Baosteel, HBIS, Shougang and Hangzhou Iron and Steel have also published wastewater discharges, which usually include all wastewater generated by enterprises in the course of production and operations.
Specifically, Baosteel had the highest wastewater discharge last year, reaching 34.54 million tons, and Shougang had the lowest discharge of 373,700 tons. 979,800 tons of Hangzhou Iron and Steel and 821,800 tons of Hegang.
HBIS and Hangzhou Iron & Steel also announced exhaust emissions. HBIS emitted 102 million tons of exhaust gas, and Hangzhou Iron and Steel emitted 115.37 billion tons.
Exhaust emissions refer to the total amount of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere during production and operation. These pollutants include particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and more.
A total of five companies disclosed this indicator of total energy consumption. 18,697,900 tons of standard coal for Hegang, 15,282,400 tons of standard coal for Angang, 13,898,200 tons of standard coal for Shougang, 2,394,100 tons of standard coal for Hangzhou Iron and Steel, and 20,005,000 tons of standard coal for Jianlong Group.
On the whole, Jianlong Group has the highest total energy consumption, and Hangzhou Iron and Steel has the lowest, and its total energy consumption is about one-eighth of that of Jianlong Group.
Total energy consumption generally refers to the total amount of energy used by a company in all business activities over a given period, including direct and indirect energy consumption.
direct energy consumption such as electricity, natural gas, coal, petroleum products, etc., for heating, cooling, lighting, mechanical drive, etc.; Indirect energy consumption such as purchased heat, air conditioning, steam, etc.
Total energy consumption is an important indicator to measure the energy efficiency and environmental impact of an enterprise, reflecting the degree of dependence on energy and energy use efficiency in the production and operation process of the enterprise.
According to other disclosed data, Baosteel discharged 32,999,300 tons of solid waste, HBIS saved 91,180,200 tons of water, Hangzhou Iron and Steel produced 13,900 tons of hazardous waste, 2,778,600 tons of waste was recycled, Shougang generated 13,051,100 tons of waste, and Jianlong Group consumed 15.367 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, 67.05 million tons of fresh water and 1.71 million tons of scrap steel.
In terms of green development, all six companies took corresponding actions last year.
In terms of clean energy power generation, Baosteel has 274,500 MWh, Shougang has 15,300 MWh, and Hangzhou Iron and Steel has 03,000 MWh. HBIS announced its clean energy use at 356 tons.
Judging from the specific cases announced by each company, Baosteel continues to promote the source emission reduction of wastewater, and each base has achieved remarkable results in reducing wastewater at the source. The average monthly wastewater discharge of silicon steel and cold-rolled steel has decreased by 1.59% and 12% year-on-year through source emission reduction work. The Tsingshan base further promoted the emission reduction at the source of the process, and reduced the discharge of wastewater per ton of steel to 0.81 cubic meters per second.
The Meishan base systematically sorted out the drainage situation of key processes, and completed the renovation of some domestic drainage facilities in the plant area during the reporting period; From the early stage of construction, the Dongshan base has established the principle of source emission reduction, and the production wastewater of the whole plant has been reused after treatment.
The first volume of ultra-low emission and low-carbon material automotive steel produced by using high-quality and high-proportion hydrogen metallurgical clean raw material DRI products in China rolled off the production line of Tangshan Branch of HBIS Co., Ltd.
Compared with the traditional "carbon metallurgy" process, the technology can reduce carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust particle emissions by more than 70%, 30%, 70% and 80% respectively.
Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. promoted the green electricity and green hydrogen fluidized bed hydrogen metallurgy project, carried out the research and development of a new generation of corrosion-resistant steel to replace high-polluting galvanized iron tower steel, and completed the formulation of a preliminary plan for the pilot application of new materials. A total of 790 million kWh of green electricity was traded, accounting for 10.2% of the traded electricity, an increase of 250 million kWh year-on-year.
Through the introduction of clean energy and environmental protection technologies, Shougang continues to carry out technical research such as solid waste blending, furnace top recycling process, oil purification and recycling, etc., deepening the recycling of surplus energy resources, improving energy utilization efficiency and reducing pollutant emissions. During the reporting period, the company's energy recovery and conversion efficiency increased significantly, and the self-generation rate of secondary energy reached 48.56%, an increase of 2.13% year-on-year.
Hangzhou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. actively supports the construction of photovoltaic projects in various subsidiaries and jointly promotes the green transformation of the energy structure.
For example, Ningbo Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. Steel Plant Solid Waste Park uses the roof of the plant to install photovoltaic modules, build corresponding photovoltaic power generation systems and supporting grid-connected facilities to meet its own part of the electricity demand, with an installed photovoltaic capacity of 4MW, an estimated annual power generation of 4 million kWh, an annual saving of 1,152 tons of standard coal, a reduction of about 23.99 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions, and a reduction of about 2,963.20 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Jianlong Group's "Research and Application of Comprehensive Utilization Technology of Oxygen Production, Energy Saving and Carbon Reduction in Iron and Steel Enterprises" was implemented in Jianlong, Ningxia, and the project integrated many innovative technologies and energy management innovation systems of oxygen production systems. The project reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 34,300 tons, sulfur dioxide emissions by 28.27 tons, and nitrogen oxide emissions by 25.87 tons per year.
In addition, while these leading steel companies are committed to green development, they are also actively promoting scientific and technological innovation. In terms of R&D investment, Baosteel had the highest annual R&D expenditure of 19.57 billion yuan, while HBIS had the lowest R&D expenditure of 256,100 yuan. Shougang, Anshan Iron and Steel and Hangzhou Iron and Steel were 5.022 billion yuan, 2.852 billion yuan and 526 million yuan respectively. Jianlong Group did not disclose this data.