A life cycle inventory (LCI) study has been carried out by the World Steel Association (worldsteel) to quantify resource use, energy and environmental emissions associated with the processing of 16 steel industry products, from the extraction of raw materials in the ground through to the steel factory gate. The data can also be used to quantify the benefits of end-of-life recycling.

LCI data were calculated for products derived via the blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace route (based on iron ore and steel scrap) and the electric arc furnace route (mainly based on steel scrap).

The 16 products included in the study are the main finished products of the steel industry. They include hot rolled coil (with and without pickling), cold rolled coil (with and without finishing), hot dip and electrically galvanised sheet, painted sheet, tinplate and tin-free sheet, welded and UO pipe, sections, plate, rebar, wire rod and engineering steel. The products are of general relevance to a wide range of downstream applications in all sectors, including those in the construction, automotive and packaging sectors.

A key goal of worldsteel is to provide support on the environmental credentials of steel to customers and users of steel, with the intention that those that specify and use materials in applications have access to relevant data to facilitate their own informed decision-making. In this regard, worldsteel is keen to support the implementation of this database in LCA software and LCA tools and as such the data is currently availailable in the GaBi software and will be available in SimaPro by the end of 2017.

By using the data, you agree with the following points:

  • The worldsteel LCI data is provided free of charge and may not be sold to other parties.
  • When the worldsteel data is included in a database for different products, it shall be supplied with the main database of the software (or tool), i.e. at no extra cost for the buyer, nor as an extra library.
  • The data, or its use, shall include a reference source (i.e. contact details for worldsteel.org
  • The worldsteel LCI Methodology Report shall be provided on request to users of the data.
  • Version updates will be available following data updates and extra LCI information supplied by companies around the world. Please accept these updates (e.g. version changes), and update the database system as required.
  • The data are supplied only for the purpose of the study for which it was requested. Should they be required for any another purpose, worldsteel must be contacted beforehand.
  • The user shall not provide the data on public websites or communicate the full inventories externally without worldsteel agreement.
  • The user shall not tamper with the worldsteel data in any way.
  • worldsteel accepts no responsibility for the use or misuse of the data.