BlueScope and the Illawarra environment

Two children picking lemons in a small allotment

Environmental responsibility

BlueScope develops, implements and maintains environment management systems that are consistent with internationally recognised standards.

The Environmental Management Systems for our larger facilities within the Illawarra are certified to the international environment management standard: ISO 14001:2015. For a detailed scope of what is covered by the ISO 14001 certification contact PKSW Environment.

The Port Kembla Steelworks, Springhill Works, Western Sydney Service Centre and Commonwealth Rolling Mills (CRM) facilities operate in accordance with our environmental protection licences, administered by the EPA.

Modern, steel cladded home built overlooking the ocean

Our approach

We are committed to improving our environmental performance and work on projects to reduce our environmental footprint. These projects focus on:

  • The efficient use of resources;

  • Pollution prevention strategies and the mitigation of process disturbances;

  • Reducing the environmental impact of our products; and

  • Good Water Stewardship

BlueScope’s Commitment to Biodiversity

Biodiversity encompasses all living things, from human beings to micro-organisms and the habitats in which they live, and it also includes the genetic material within individual species.

There are three main goals established under the Convention of Biological Diversity, these are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.

BlueScope recognise that we have both an impact to and a dependence on biodiversity, through our business operations and use of ecosystem services.

 

BlueScope is committed to several mitigation measures including:

  • Avoiding impact to Biodiversity by including this consideration in the design of new or modifications to existing operations;

  • Minimise impacts by substituting existing decisions or activities with alternatives that are designed to reduce or limit the undesirable impacts of a proposed activity on biodiversity;

  • Rehabilitate or restore the affected environment;

  • Offset the biodiversity impact by implementing measures to compensate for affected biodiversity values. The compensatory measure may include a combination of direct offsets or other compensatory measures.

We are critically dependent on resilient ecosystems. The loss of or reduction in the quality of our planet’s biodiversity will not only impact on our operations, but will also have an impact on our communities, our shareholders and our people.

Sustainable packaging targets

In Australia, the introduction of the 2025 National Packaging Targets was announced in September 2018 to set a sustainable path for Australia’s recyclable waste.

There are a wide variety of options and decisions that need consideration when undertaking packaging redesign to meet the 2025 sustainability targets.  To help organisations meet these goals, the Australian federal government has tasked the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) to ensure that these packaging objectives are achieved. APCO is a co-regulatory, not-for-profit organisation that partners with government and industry to reduce the harmful impact of packaging on the Australian environment. APCO promotes sustainable design and recycling initiatives, waste to landfill reduction activities and circular economy projects. APCO members submit a comprehensive action plan with the steps they will take to fulfill their responsibilities, a public commitment to advancing their packaging sustainability outcomes.

For FY22, the Australian Steel Products business achieved an overall performance level of Advanced.  The Annual Report and Action Plan and further details on the 2025 national packaging targets are available on the APCO website.

Our investment in improvement

BlueScope makes significant financial investments to improve our environmental performance. We have a record of environmental improvement in the Illawarra stretching back many decades.

 

Regular monitoring and communication

BlueScope distributes a range of informative reports to demonstrate our progress in improving our environmental performance. Some of these are quite technical in nature to comply with Australian regulatory requirements.

To see the reports we provide under NSW regulatory requirements, read more here: NSW Monitoring Data.

A detailed review of global progress can be found in BlueScope’s Sustainability Report.

Community view of Port Kembla Steelworks.