The Sustainable Steel Buyers Platform (SSBP), a coalition of leading corporations working to advance the purchase of inaugural volumes of near-zero emissions steel in North America today released a Request for Proposal (RFP). The platform is convened by clean energy nonprofit RMI (founded as Rocky Mountain Institute) and is seeking bids to meet the members’ demand for 1 million tons per year of near-zero emissions steel by 2028, resulting in an annual carbon emissions reduction of roughly 1.5 million metric tons.
The Platform’s first RFP welcomes Amazon and Johnson Controls as the latest corporations to signal market demand for lower emissions steel. They join existing members Dvele, Invenergy, Microsoft, Nextracker, and Trammell Crow Company. Securing offtake at this scale is critical to stimulating producer investment in more sustainable iron and steelmaking technologies and demonstrating the commercial viability of near-zero emissions iron and steel production.
“We are excited to partner with the Sustainable Steel Buyers Platform to advance lower-emissions steel solutions,” said Chris Atkins, Director of Worldwide Operations Sustainability at Amazon. “We’re already reducing steel-related carbon emissions across our supply chain and investing in early-stage companies developing innovative solutions to steel decarbonization, which will help Amazon meet our commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040.”
“Green steel is essential for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the Sustainable Steel Buyers Platform creates new opportunities to procure it through innovative partnerships. Steel has a significant impact on embodied carbon, and growing the Platform is pivotal for the clean energy transition and meeting customer demand for low-carbon products,” said Renae Kezar, Vice President, Corporate Sustainability at Johnson Controls.
The Platform was launched in September 2023 with the goal of aggregating climate committed buyers towards offtakes which accelerate the business case for near-zero emissions iron and steel. The Platform is seeking responses from iron and steel producers to understand the remaining green premium. After proposals are evaluated, Platform members will have the opportunity to individually negotiate advanced offtake agreements with the selected producer.
