Green steel

Highly energy-intensive and often relying on pollution-releasing blast furnaces, the steel industry is not a typical poster child for sustainability. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Aço Verde do Brasil (AVB) is quietly forging a sustainable revolution.

With a climate-focused business model that is rare for the sector, AVB uses a green alternative to coking coal plus renewable energy and circular use of raw materials to create low carbon impact products for its clients in real estate and infrastructure. In 2020 the company, a subsidiary of Grupo Ferroeste, became the first ever carbon-neutral steel producer, certified by SGS. By the end of this year, it plans to run the world’s first zero waste steel mill.

With a climate-focused business model that is rare for the sector, AVB uses a green alternative to coking coal plus renewable energy and circular use of raw materials to create low carbon impact products for its clients in real estate and infrastructure. In 2020 the company, a subsidiary of Grupo Ferroeste, became the first ever carbon-neutral steel producer, certified by SGS. By the end of this year, it plans to run the world’s first zero waste steel mill.

This is a major difference from the way steel is normally made. “95 per cent of steel in the world is produced in the conventional way involving coking coal and iron ore. That’s a very CO2-intensive process,” Nascimento says. “Brazil is the only place in the world where you have steel being produced using charcoal made from eucalyptus.”

The choice of using eucalyptus charcoal was initially made because it felt like the ‘natural route’ given the resources available locally. “We’re located up north in the most remote area of Brazil. So what do you have? Lots of land to plant. Great weather. Lots of water. If you live on the beach, you eat more seafood because it’s easier and cheaper,” Nascimento says. “It was the same with charcoal. Now, almost 15 years later, we realise that was the best choice we could ever have made.”

Fossil free

Not only is there no coal used in the process, AVB’s plants use no fossil fuels at all. Instead, they get renewable energy by capturing the processed gas from their own furnaces.

The company also works to reuse all residuals, from slag to gases. It’s a unique, high-value approach that makes the company stand out for all the right reasons.

“Commodities are not like a dress where there is this design or this colour,” Nascimento explains. “No, a commodity is a commodity. So you have to find a way to encourage people to buy it from you. We believe that our differential is going to be on our CO2 emission balance sheet.”

“Commodities are not like a dress where there is this design or this colour,” Nascimento explains. “No, a commodity is a commodity. So you have to find a way to encourage people to buy it from you. We believe that our differential is going to be on our CO2 emission balance sheet.”

With international interest in ‘green steel’ picking up and the company growing fast, there’s lots to be excited about. But Nascimento is very clear that for her family, it’s not just about the money; it’s also about preserving the legacy of her father. That long-term thinking is clear in everything AVB does, from its holistic provision for its workers’ needs to its careful approach to preserving Brazil’s forests.

“If I want my children and grandchildren to keep growing the company, we have to take care of where we get our raw material from,” she says.