Utilizing Energy Management Software to track carbon emissions

Steel manufacturing companies are facing mounting pressure to track and reduce their carbon emissions. The steel industry has always been one of the primary contributors to carbon emissions worldwide. Therefore, there is a need for more sustainable practices that focus on reducing their environmental footprint.

One of the main challenges that the steel industry faces is accurately tracking and managing carbon emissions throughout the entire value chain. This includes scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions from operations and the supply chain. To address these challenges, steel manufacturers need a robust and reliable solution that can accurately track and calculate energy costs and CO₂ emissions per production order at each process step in real-time. This would enable them to identify areas where they can reduce their carbon footprint and make operational changes to minimize their emissions.

Furthermore, steel manufacturers should ensure that the data collected is transparent and accessible to customers, stakeholders, and governments. Transparency is essential in the modern business environment, and consumers are increasingly interested in the environmental impact of the products they purchase. By providing accurate and transparent data on their carbon emissions, steel manufacturers can ensure long-term environmental as well as corporate sustainability.

Viridis Carbon is a carbon tracking application that provides comprehensive solutions for tracking emissions by offering detailed tracking of each production order and providing product certificates with directly measured carbon footprints. This increases transparency and accountability over carbon emissions and provides users with valuable information on the environmental impact of their products.

The software enables product-specific carbon footprints through automatic calculation, reporting, and CO₂ footprint certification. These product certificates include directly-measured carbon footprints and not only average estimations. The procedure for tracking direct emissions of carbon equivalent gases (scope 1) involves dividing production into areas, identifying the primary energy sources, and calculating the mass balance from inputs and outputs. For tracking scope 2 emissions, the procedure begins with calculating all energy and utility flows for scope 2 emissions. The equivalent carbon emissions are then calculated and related to energy resource consumption. For scope 3 emissions, which are other indirect emissions generated throughout the value chain, plant operators can use energy management software, such as Viridis Carbon, to enter information about emissions related to purchased goods and services, fuel and energy-related activities, and travel. This information can be requested from external suppliers or even registered manually.

By using carbon tracking tools like Viridis Carbon, steel manufacturers can respond to the growing demand for more sustainability and provide customers with a clear understanding of their carbon footprint. This represents a significant step toward carbon neutrality and a more sustainable future for the steel industry.

Operators of integrated sites deal with dozens of different energy and utilities inputs, which must be carefully balanced to ensure a cost- and environmentally-effective energy matrix.

Viridis manages complex and highly diversified energy matrices, which is notably the case for integrated steel plants. Its conversion rules automatically determine mass and energy balances and equivalent carbon emissions while fully supporting industry certifications such as ISO 50001 and ISO 14064. Viridis is becoming the operator’s single source of information for its energy efficiency and sustainability market reporting.

Customers benefit from reduced emissions and carbon footprint, long-term improved efficiency sustainment, and identification of process improvement opportunities. Energy costs and CO₂ emissions are computed exactly per coil or any individual product. Tracing costs and letting customers know how green your steel is, becomes possible.

Tracking carbon across the whole value chain is challenging but is the first step for carbon transparency and reduction efforts. The implementation is estimated to take two to six months, and the investment is expected to pay off after six to twelve months. However, this may differ depending on the country. Carbon taxes can be reduced by 3 to 10%.

To decarbonize the metals industry, a comprehensive approach is needed that considers all stages of production and the entire value chain. The Viridis Energy & Sustainability Suite is an integrated solution for energy, resources, and sustainability management, which has been intensively proven in the steel, mining, and other energy-intensive industries. The modular software suite directly contributes to effectively implementing operational efficiency, optimized planning, and integrated management, delivering fast, concrete results, and enforcing a continuous improvement cycle.