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Environmental
Stewardship
Basic Principle: Continuous
improvement in environmental and resource management
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| As an integrated steelmaker, managing the cost of raw materials —
taconite, coal, limestone and energy — is essential to our success. This is why we
are focused on maximizing the benefits we derive from materials we use in an effort to
minimize our environmental impact. This management process can be summed up in three words:
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. |
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Reduce: U. S. Steel is making meaningful strides in reducing our energy consumption
and our greenhouse gas emissions. These actions are driven by both the need to
manage the high cost of natural gas and coal, as well as the need to protect our
natural surroundings. For U. S. Steel, energy efficiency is both cost effective
and environmentally responsible. These efforts are explained in greater detail in
the “Reduction of Emissions” section of this site.
Reuse: Another way U. S. Steel manages our environmental impact and our resources is
by reusing certain materials in the steelmaking process. U. S. Steel reduces the
amount of waste generated and emissions produced in steelmaking by using the
byproduct gas produced in our blast furnaces and coke ovens in the place of
natural gas - saving valuable energy that would otherwise be wasted. Water used in
steelmaking is processed and reused in the form of steam to produce electricity.
Additionally, items such as slag are reused in other commercial applications such as
road construction and fertilizer. The recovery and reuse of the slag saves millions
of tons of natural resources every year.
Recycle: As the world’s most recycled material, steel provides and excellent
opportunity for everyone to practice environmental stewardship. In 2006, more that
73 million tons of steel were recycled in the United States. Recycling steel is
vital to sustainability. Recycling helps preserve landfills, and it reduces our
industry’s need to mine virgin ore, which integrated steelmakers use to create high
value-added steels
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