Stainless steel is strong, hygienic, corrosion resistant and recyclable. The combination of corrosion resistance and durability increases product lifetimes. These properties make it an ideal choice for a variety of demanding industrial and consumer applications.
Several life-cycle studies indicate that in many applications the total cost of stainless steel is lower than that of competing materials; in certain cases, cost savings can be in the range of 30% to 40%, due to reduced repair and maintenance costs. Renewable energy solutions such as solar power, biofuels and wind energy require components and materials that can be sustainably sourced and yield low life-cycle costs. Stainless steel is an optimal choice in such areas.
Environmental product declarations
To support its customers’ targets to reduce their carbon emissions from supply chain, Outokumpu has published environmental product declarations (EPDs) that provide externally verified environmental data on its stainless steel products. The EPDs give information on a wide range of environmental impact indicators from carbon emissions to resource use, outflows and waste indicators. The calculations are based on vast lifecycle analysis that cover the stainless steel lifecycle from raw material extraction to manufacturing as well as end-of-life processing and recycling potential.
The published EPDs cover three stainless steel product groups: austenitic, ferritic and duplex. For each product group, the EPDs will cover both cold and hot rolled stainless steels, totaling the number of EPD documents to six.