A Commitment to Protect and Improve Our Environment
For the steel industry, sustainability once meant ensuring the viability of our operations.
Today, it means transforming the industry into one recognized for leadership, quality products, customer focus and environmental awareness. ArcelorMittal USA is taking the lead by making sustainability a core value and implementing it throughout its business model.
We now leverage environmental knowledge from our facilities on every corner of the globe to ensure that our mission of protecting and improving the environment is met. We do this by…
- Focusing on superior compliance - Rather than simply complying with mandates and maintaining permits, we go well beyond requirements. We proactively implement environmental initiatives that not only create cleaner and healthier workplaces and communities, but also attractive habitats for many forms of wildlife.
- Contributing to the bottom line - Our environmental management programs and policies add value, rather than cost, and contribute measurably to the bottom line. Take for example our energy reduction initiative which protects the environment, improves our bottom line and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
- Leading the way in new technologies - ArcelorMittal USA is leading the way in identifying sustainable, environmentally-conscious technologies. In Lackawanna, NY, we created one of the largest urban wind farms in the United States and the first on the Great Lakes shoreline. We are currently studying other locations, including Cleveland and Indiana Harbor, to determine whether additional wind farms would be feasible.
- Enhancing shareholder value - Investors demand that companies manage the business in an environmentally responsible manner not only to operate in today’s environment but to avoid issues in the future. Good environmental performance is a key indicator of good company management.
- Reducing our mercury footprint - We established a comprehensive mercury management strategy to voluntarily reduce our mercury “footprint” throughout our operations while also working to educate our suppliers, clients, employees and the general public on the steps they can take to reduce mercury emissions and conserve energy.
- Achieving ISO 14001 certification – Through a renewed commitment to our Environmental Management Strategy, each ArcelorMittal USA operating facility is slated to achieve ISO 14001 certification by the end of 2008.
- Remediating brownfield sites – ArcelorMittal’s Environmental and Real Estate teams add tens of millions of dollars to the bottom line by remediating brownfield sites and selling the property. We are proving that if environmental uncertainty is eliminated, buyers are ready to purchase these valuable properties, creating new jobs and additional revenues.
- Looking toward the future - We are aware of our impacts and determined to improve our performance. Climate change and greenhouse gas control are among the world’s most important environmental issues, and we believe the interest in the issues will only intensify in the months and years ahead. We are working to set comprehensive environmental standards for our international operations.