SeAH Besteel said on the 29th it earned the top Platinum rating in the Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWTL) certification from UL Solutions, a global safety certification body, the first in Korea's steel industry.
SeAH Besteel's achievement raises the practical recycling rate of waste generated at special steel manufacturing sites to 99.7%, earning international recognition for its efforts to advance a circular resource system and strengthen environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management.
ZWTL certification is an international indicator that evaluates corporations' resource-circulation efforts. Ratings are given based on the proportion of waste generated at business sites that is not landfilled but recycled as resources. Depending on the recycling rate, the ratings are Silver (90–94%), Gold (95–99%), and Platinum (99.5% or higher). The top Platinum rating can be obtained only by meeting 99.5% or higher, which is equivalent to a practical recycling rate of 100%.
In special steel manufacturing, large volumes of various byproducts such as slag and dust inevitably occur, because the process must add various ferroalloys to steel scrap to achieve high functionality such as durability and heat resistance.
In particular, waste generated in steelmaking and rolling processes is complex in physical and chemical properties and occurs in large quantities, making it difficult to recycle. SeAH Besteel has fully strengthened facilities and operating systems and is recording high recycling rates across all special steel processes, including steelmaking and rolling.
To reinforce a virtuous cycle of resources, SeAH Besteel built a byproduct resource center in the plant and has continued technology development and facility investment to expand recycling uses. It developed and commercialized technologies to recycle electric arc furnace and refining slag into asphalt concrete and concrete aggregate and ultra-rapid-hardening cement. In April this year, it also completed about 3 billion won in facility investments, including installing a powder suction device and silos in the plant to ensure a stable supply of refining slag.
It also operates a self-developed SHE integrated system to centrally manage environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information, improving transparency of related data such as waste emissions management. By establishing plant-by-plant unit index management processes and strengthening operating efficiency, the company expects not only to establish a circular resource system but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
SeAH Besteel plans to further advance its waste management system with this certification as a stepping stone. It will develop upcycling technologies that convert various industrial byproducts and waste resources generated inside and outside the manufacturing process into high-value, eco-friendly alternative raw materials, actively apply them to production processes to increase resource-circulation efficiency, and build a sustainable, eco-friendly plant.