BlueScope leads the energy transition

December 2020

BlueScope has been at the forefront of Australia’s steel industry for over a century and is now leading the charge towards clean energy in hard-to-abate sectors.

Since 2005, BlueScope has reduced its emissions in Australia by approximately 40 per cent by reducing steelmaking capacity and focussing on energy efficiency and productivity improvements. In 2018, BlueScope also committed to a further 12 per cent reduction in emissions intensity by 2030 at its steelmaking facilities, and is actively developing its specific long-term decarbonisation pathway.

Pursuing renewable energy opportunities is a key workstream under BlueScope’s Climate Change Strategy. In 2018, BlueScope signed a landmark power purchase agreement (PPA) with the 133 MW Finley Solar Farm in NSW for the equivalent of 20 per cent of BlueScope’s total Australian electricity purchases. The solar farm was commissioned in 2019 and is providing emissions reductions equivalent to removing 90,000 cars from the road each year.

More recently, BlueScope became a founding member of the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative (ETI). ETI, which has been convened by ClimateWorks Australia and Climate-KIC Australia, is an industry-led initiative to develop pathways to net zero emission supply chains across critical sectors of the Australian economy. The coalition is made up of businesses from sectors that are considered hard-to-abate, including iron and steel, aluminium, LNG, and chemicals, which in combination produce more than a quarter of Australia’s annual emissions.

Undertaking continuous energy management improvements, investing in renewables and working collaboratively with like-minded businesses on tough abatement challenges exemplify BlueScope’s leadership on climate and energy issues.

Find the case study on page 28 of the third edition of Navigating a dynamic energy landscape: a briefing for Australian businesses.