One of best things about working for EMR; one of the largest metal recyclers in the world; is the knowledge that we are playing a crucial role in creating an increasingly circular and sustainable world.
Like many of my colleagues - our crane drivers, weighbridge operators, depot managers and every other member of the EMR staff, I get up in the morning knowing that I work for a company that is making a massive difference and is part of the green solution to some of the world’s starkest challenges. We can all go home and say to our families that we’re doing something that is genuinely helping society and making the planet sustainable in the long run.
It’s a powerful message and one that ensures that, at EMR, we all take sustainability very seriously. It’s why we do what we do.
Become a better business
And, importantly, our efforts to become more sustainable are also helping EMR become a better business. As we move towards our goal of cutting emissions and waste, not only do we avoid their negative environmental impacts, but we also enjoy operational efficiencies that enable us to be more competitive in our markets. It makes business sense.
Lowering carbon intensity for our customers products
Our efforts in sustainability also create a compelling message for our customers. By cutting carbon out of recycling, we can help our supply chain partners to benefit from utilising low/ zero carbon materials in their products.
What is also important to our customers is the impact that using our materials can have on down-stream emissions too. In the case of steel, the use of recycled steel via an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) has a much lower embodied carbon footprint than if it was produced from iron ore via the more conventional, and carbon intensive, Blast Furnace (BF) or Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) route. Optimisation of the EAF production route is going to be one major area in which the wider steel industry will seek to decarbonise in line with the targets set out in the Paris Agreement.
Throughout the materials product chain, recyclers’ direct emissions are often relatively small when compared to other approaches. For example, according to an independent study carried out by the Carbon Trust for EMR, collection and production of recycled steel for supply to an electric arc furnace emits roughly 25-26kgCO2e per tonne, which is significantly lower than the alternative of sponge iron derived from iron ore which emits roughly 2,005kgCO2e.
We care for our communities
But that’s not all. A sustainable business is a business that is positively integrated into the communities in which it serves, providing meaningful and sustainable employment for a variety of people in the circular economy.
Our operations have to comply with the law, that’s a given, but it is also important that we have positive relations with those who work and live near our sites. We have strong environmental management processes to avoid significant impacts on our local communities.
Our work brings economic benefits to these communities too. Companies like EMR are a fundamental part of the green economy and provide opportunities for education and employment in areas where there is an EMR site. Across the UK, our sites provide direct employment for around 1,650 people in good quality green jobs and many more in the smaller businesses that we work with in our supply chain.
We already work with schools to teach children about materials, reprocessing and recycling through our Recyclabots programme. Learning about circularity and its importance to the economy is incredibly valuable in helping the next generation build on our sustainable goals.
When you break it down, there are many reasons why we care about being a sustainable business and we have many reasons to embrace this challenge. It makes sense to our people; it makes sense to the planet and it makes sense to our prosperity.
Through Our Decade of Action and our efforts to improve our business every day, I am proud to say that’s exactly what we’re doing.
