ArcelorMittal Poland was among the few companies that received the ResponsibleSteelTM certificate. After a successful audit conducted by the DNV Poland certification body (auditor accredited by the ResponsibleSteelTM organization), the company received a certificate confirming that it meets all the criteria included in the ResponsibleSteelTM standard.
“This certificate is a great recognition for us at ArcelorMittal Poland but also a commitment to our stakeholders. Steel is the world’s most widely used material. Our customers in the automotive, construction, energy, infrastructure, packaging, transport and white goods sectors have growing expectations that the materials they work with are produced by sites that respect the highest social and environmental standards. The ResponsibleSteel certificate is proof of responsible management and gives us further motivation for development. Our activities directed towards our employees, communities and sustainable development were recognized, which makes us very proud.” Sanjay Samaddar, chairman of ArcelorMittal Poland
What is ResponsibleSteel standard?
ResponsibleSteel is a new voluntary initiative that has defined a Standard for the responsible sourcing and production of steel. The audits are designed to verify that a steel site’s activities meet a set of rigorously defined requirements, which auditors validate not only on the basis of received documents but also via a number of interviews with internal and external stakeholders.
Why?
We want our stakeholders to be sure that our steel, which is inherently a material with infinite recycling potential, is manufactured taking into account the highest standards in areas such as health and safety, organizational and management culture, labor law and human rights, relations with the environment or broadly understood environmental protection nature and biodiversity. The ResponsibleSteelTM certificate is a confirmation of meeting these requirements.
The standard covers 12 areas:
- Corporate Leadership
- ESG Management Systems
- Responsible Sourcing of Input Materials
- Decommissioning and Closure
- Occupational Health and Safety
- Labour Rights
- Human Rights
- Stakeholder Engagement and Communication
- Local Communities
- Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Noise, Emissions, Effluents and Waste
- Water Stewardship
Audit process
The audit was carried out by independent auditors from DNV. The first stage, which took place in November 2021, confirmed our readiness for the second stage - the basic certification process based on interviews and documentation. The second stage, in addition to an in-depth analysis of documents, primarily included a number of activities of auditors verifying how sustainable steel production works in practice in our country. The auditors focused on talks with the management of individual plants, visited production areas, and conducted individual and group interviews with employees, trade unions and other stakeholders of ArcelorMittal Poland.