Van Leeuwen
How we help customers reduce their CO2 emissions

How we help customers reduce their CO2 emissions

More and more customers are seeking our help in making their business processes more sustainable. The need to reduce CO2 emissions is increasingly being recognized, and the regulations around this are becoming more stringent, especially from governments. Large companies will be required to report their CO2 emissions and how they plan to reduce them starting in 2025, and smaller companies will have to do so from 2026. In short, the sense of urgency among our customers is growing, along with the demand for information and data from suppliers like us. The launch of our umbrella brand Van Leeuwen Impact for our pipe products with significantly reduced CO2 emissions has generated a lot of interest.

How much CO2 is emitted during steel production?

The CO2 emissions during traditional steel production are substantial. The steel industry accounts for 7 to 9% of global CO2 emissions. For every ton of steel produced, 2.2 tons of CO2 are released. However, this also means that even small improvements in the process can lead to significant reductions in CO2 emissions. As Van Leeuwen is a wholesaler and distributor and does not produce steel or pipes, this may seem out of our control. But that's not entirely true!

Scope 1 and 2 are under your control

When discussing CO2 emissions, it is important to define which scope you are talking about. Scope 1 refers to the emissions from your own company, while scope 2 refers to the kind of energy used (whether self-generated or purchased). As a company, you have control over reducing these emissions. At Van Leeuwen, we have made significant steps in this area over the past few years. Key examples include the installation of 9,100 solar panels on our roof, the electrification of our fleet of leased vehicles, the installation of LED lighting in our offices and warehouses, and the use of HVO100 biofuel for our trucks.

For our customers, this is part of their scope 3, the scope outside of their control. The production of steel and steel pipes belongs to scope 3 for both our customers and ourselves.

Do we have any influence over the sustainability of steel production?

As mentioned, the biggest gains in reducing CO2 emissions can be made during steel production, and therefore in the production of steel pipes. This is scope 3 for us and for our customers. Nevertheless, we do have an influence here. To "green" our pipe products, we see it as our responsibility to engage in conversations with our suppliers (the manufacturers) about this. As a market leader and major customer of these mills, we can certainly use our influence in apositive way. For example, when tube mills know that we want to stock and sell their more sustainably produced steel products, it increases their willingness to invest in such production methods. As a purchasing manager, I have been working on this for several years.

Last year, we became the first distributor in the Netherlands to stock pipes made from CO2-reduced steel: the XCarb pipes from ArcelorMittal. Since then, we have added sustainably produced pipes from several other manufacturers to our stocks. We offer them under our umbrella brand Van Leeuwen Impact. We assess all initiatives from manufacturers according to our established criteria and only add products to our Impact range if they meet these standards. Customers are very interested in this development, and together with them, we discuss the potential contribution of these pipes to their own sustainability efforts.

How can steel be produced more sustainably?

Currently, there are two common methods for steel production: the blast furnace process and the electric arc furnace process. The blast furnace process is the traditional method of steel production, where iron ore and coal are used to create new steel. This method results in high CO2 emissions.

The second method is based on recycling; steel scrap is simply melted down and turned into new steel. Since only electricity is used in this production method, it is much cleaner. Moreover, there are increasing opportunities to use "green" electricity, which can further reduce CO2 emissions. The downside of this method is that there needs to be enough scrap available, and no new steel is produced. Currently, we see a lot of investment in Europe in transitioning from blast furnace (BF) production to electric arc furnace (EAF) production.

A future, even more advanced production method involves processing iron ore directly into steel using hydrogen, with zero CO2 emissions. This method does not require steel scrap.

Certification

For the pipes we stock under the Van Leeuwen Impact label, we provide an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certificate. This document contains all relevant environmental data, which has been verified by an independent third party. We offer full transparency regarding the sustainability aspects of these pipes.

Interested in a conversation about the CO2 savings you can achieve with our pipes? Feel free to contact us via email or call your representative.

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