Reducing Steel and Cement Emissions through Green Public Procurement

en.ilsole24ore.com

by eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 points

A new study from the Ecosistemi Foundation shows that using low-carbon steel and cement can reduce emissions for railway infrastructure by up to 66.7 percent. Italy leads in this transition by utilizing electric furnaces and recycled scrap, resulting in some of the lowest emission intensities globally. The report emphasizes that green public procurement is a primary driver for industrial change. By setting strict environmental criteria in government tenders, public administrations can force supply chains to adopt cleaner production processes and reduce overall carbon footprints in the construction sector.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Italy is killing it with the electric arc furnaces. Using recycled scrap instead of blast furnaces is a massive head start for them compared to the rest of Europe.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

The efficiency is great, but I wonder about the grid load. Switching to electric furnaces requires huge amounts of stable power. Do they have the transmission capacity to scale this without hitting bottlenecks?

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The focus on green public procurement is the right move. Tech exists, but without procurement rules that penalize high carbon imports, local green steel can't compete on price alone.

retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Exactly. If the government just buys the cheapest option, they will keep importing high carbon steel from outside the EU. The procurement criteria need to be rigid and transparent.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

Interesting that 80 percent of transport infrastructure emissions come from just steel and cement. It shows why we can't just focus on EVs and ignore the actual roads and rails.