22 September 2022
ArcelorMittal Poland has received ResponsibleSteel™ certification, following a successful audit carried out by DNV Poland which confirmed that the business fulfils the criteria required to earn certification against the ResponsibleSteel Standard. ArcelorMittal Poland is the first cluster of sites to be certified in Eastern Europe by ResponsibleSteel, the industry’s first global multi-stakeholder standard and certification initiative.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. They take into account a broad range of social and environmental criteria split into 12 principles. Social aspects include: business integrity, relations with employees and communities, human rights and labour rights. Environmental criteria cover climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, water management, waste and noise emissions and biodiversity.Commenting on the certification, Sanjay Samaddar, chairman of ArcelorMittal Poland stated: “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.”
Annie Heaton, CEO of ResponsibleSteel, said: “We are very proud to announce the certification of ArcelorMittal Poland against the ResponsibleSteel Standard. It is the first cluster of sites to be certified in Eastern Europe and joins several ArcelorMittal sites certified against our Standard.”
She continued: “The audit process revealed ArcelorMittal Poland’s strong corporate governance structures, close relationships with local stakeholders, dedication to employee welfare, and commitment to responsible environmental practices, notably water management and biodiversity. It is a significant achievement which has taken considerable time and effort and we look forward to continuing to work with ArcelorMittal Poland on their journey to produce more responsible steel.”
In July 2021, ArcelorMittal announced that its plants in Belgium (Geel, Genk, Gent and Liège), Luxembourg (Belval, Differdange and Rodange) and Germany (Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt) were the first steel plants globally to be independently audited and found to meet the standards required for ResponsibleSteel.
In May 2022, the company’s sites in its Asturias Cluster in Spain, and ArcelorMittal Méditerranée in France achieved ResponsibleSteel™ certification. In June, France Nord also gained certification, covering its sites in Dunkerque, Mardyck, Desvres, Montataire, Florange, Mouzon and Basse-Indre.
