The EPDs are issued by Germany's lnstitut Bauen und Umwelt (IBU), according to international standards. 

The EPDs are an addition to the strong sustainability credentials of these products. Around a quarter of sheet piles are reused up to five times, before being recycled - making them a perfect fit for the circular economy concept. In 2016, ArcelorMittal Europe - Long Products launched its EcoSheetPile AZ®-800 range, further reducing the embedded carbon footprint of sheet piles. A life cycle analysis of these sheet piles in a typical application showed that the innovative design concept has a 45% lower carbon footprint than alternative construction solutions. Similarly, the use of high-strength steel sections has the potential to reduce the embedded carbon footprint of a building by 54%; with buildings generating around 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, choosing high-strength steel sections in construction has the potential to make a very significant impact on CO2 emissions reductions worldwide. 

Speaking about the first product-specific EPDs to be offered, Olivier Vassart, CEO ArcelorMittal Steligence®, said: "We are proud to issue the first environmental product declarations for specific XCarb™ recycled and renewably produced steel solutions that are used in construction and infrastructure, a sector which has a significant carbon footprint. Thanks to XCarb™ recycled and renewably produced, we are able to offer steel produced with a CO2 footprint as low as 0.33 per tonne of sections and merchant bars and 0.37 per tonne for the EcoSheetPile™ Plus brand. Now, with these two EPDs, we can support the construction industry to meet tougher requirements to reduce the embedded carbon footprint of buildings and infrastructure". ArcelorMittal's global R&D centre in Maizieres, France, and Long Products' mills in Luxembourg and Spain are actively working together to reach ever higher standards in decarbonisation, with this latest news just one example of the work they are doing. 

The environmental product declaration EcoSheetPile™ Plus is valid for steel sheet piles produced by ArcelorMittal sites Differdange and Esch-Belval in Luxembourg; and the XCarb™ Recycled and renewably produced Structural steel sections and merchant bars by ArcelorMittal Europe is valid for the sites of Belval, Differdange and Rodange in Luxembourg, and Bergara and Olaberria in Spain.