The business case
The freedom and flexibility to succeed
Corporate responsibility is integral to our business strategy. We're growing ArcelorMittal by leveraging all the advantages we have in terms of geographical size and scale, product expertise, and customer focus. In all these areas corporate responsibility has an important part to play.
Geographical presence
We operate in over 20 countries, across four continents, and have as strong a presence in developing countries as we do in the established markets of Europe and North America. Our ability to operate successfully is immeasurably enhanced by a reputation for responsible and ethical business practice.
We can build and protect our license to operate by complying with all the relevant regulations, maintaining a first-class record on Health and Safety, minimizing our environmental impacts, and making a sustainable contribution to local economic growth.
Product development
Steel is one of the world's most versatile and useful commodities, and different economies will need different sorts of steel products, depending on their stage of development. For example, emerging economies tend to buy more 'long' and commodity products, whereas developed countries use more 'flat' and finished items.
An excellent example would be the lighter-weight and 'greener' steels that we are developing for the car and construction industries, which are making a significant contribution to tackling climate change. We can also make significant cost savings by making our operations more efficient and using less energy, both of which will help reduce our carbon footprint.
You can read more on product development in the Product stewardship and Research and Development section
Customer focus
The size and scale of the new ArcelorMittal business gives us the opportunity to move both up and down the value chain in our industry. At one end of the scale this brings us closer to our customers, and makes us a more agile and efficient operator; at the other we can secure supplies of low-cost raw materials by having our own mining operations.
Many of our most important mining sites are located in emerging markets like Kazakhstan or Liberia, where our willingness to engage positively in the local community brings huge business benefits, both directly and indirectly. Likewise, our track record on environmental and social issues can be a crucial success factor in negotiations for new mining licenses.
Photo by David Laurent