Our challenge

The risk of variable social and environmental standards is very real, and assessing these social and environmental standards is no simple task. With high expectations from our customers, and as a customer to our own suppliers, we need to create alignment on what standards are needed and show that we conform with these. We want our customers to be able to tell the full story of their products with the confidence that our steel – and the raw materials it’s made from – comes from a value chain that meets everyone’s expectations.

Our target is to certify our Hamilton site against the ResponsibleSteel™ in 2023.

Our approach

We engage continuously with our customers to understand what they expect from us. As their expectations grow in this area, we are making progress on several fronts:

  • ensuring our management systems reflect the highest global standards
  • strengthening our due diligence  to deepen our understanding of the risks right across our supply chain
  • working with other stakeholders to mitigate risks 

Management systems – Code for responsible sourcing

Our responsible sourcing team works with the corporate responsibility department on our approach, defining the standards we promote, assessing our supply chain risks, implementing and monitoring our systems. On a day-to-day level, we assess our suppliers, especially of raw materials, against our code for responsible sourcing.

Our code was established in consultation with customers, suppliers, peer companies and NGOs, observing international best practice. It covers health and safety, human rights, labour standards, business ethics and environmental management – and we evolve it to incorporate new expectations that emerge such as conflict minerals and modern slavery. It is focused on the procurement of raw materials, industrial equipment and operating products.

All new suppliers must agree to the terms of our code and all existing suppliers are currently being asked to acknowledge it or commit to equivalent standards.

Standardization and Certification

As both a steel and mining company, ArcelorMittal has taken a key role in the evolution of two new certification organizations, ResponsibleSteel™ and the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) and works with the Responsible Minerals Initiative to help create greater alignment between mineral-using industries. ArcelorMittal is helping to strengthen their governance, membership network, strategic outlook and communications. To create greater impact and efficiency, we’re working to align both standards bodies with each other.

In the first exercise of its kind, ArcelorMittal piloted ResponsibleSteel™ at multiple sites worldwide in 2019, to test and shape the process. ArcelorMittal achieved the first site certification for ResonsibleSteel™ and our Hamilton site aims to certified in 2023. See here for more.

ArcelorMittal has also worked to encourage co-operation between standard-setters at IRMA, TSM and ResponsibleSteel™. In the same spirit, the Responsible Minerals Initiative has joined forces with the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) to create a working group to shape the debate. Members include miners, mineral users from the auto and electronic sectors and several mining schemes (IRMA, TSM, ICMM, RJC, ASI, ResponsibleSteel™).