Corporate Carbon Footprint and Scope 3 Emissions in Stainless Steel Electric Arc Furnace Steelmaking: A Step To Tackle Climate Change

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking is generally less carbon-intensive than primary production routes; however, stainless steel production involves significant upstream Scope 3 emissions that are critical for comprehensive carbon accounting. This study presents a corporate carbon footprint (CF) analysis, based on primary data, of an EAF steelworks producing stainless steel long products, conducted according to ISO 14064:2019, GHG Protocol guidelines, and relevant Product Category Rules. A cradle-to-gate analysis quantified Scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions for a functional unit of 1 ton of stainless steel produced. The total CF was determined to be 4.57 ton CO2,eq/tonSS, with Scope 3 emissions as the dominant contribution at approximately 70%. Upstream raw material production, primarily ferroalloys for chromium and nickel, drives ≈80% of Scope 3 emissions. Scope 1 emissions (14.7% of total CF) and Scope 2 emissions (15.1% of total CF) constituted smaller yet notable shares. A sensitivity analysis was conducted on Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions, illustrating the main defossilization levers available to steelmakers. This reinforced the importance of Scope 3 emissions embedded in raw materials creating a shift for meaningful defossilization in scrap-based stainless steel production, which must be realized at the value chain level, overcoming the single steelmaking site.