Steel Sustainability Australia
Details
- Product Type Metals
- Regions Australia, New Zealand
Contact
- Melinda Coles +61 2 8748 0180
- Website Visit
- Email ssa@steel.org.au
ISupplier
- Company Name Australian Steel Institute
- ISupplier Profile Visit
About
Steel Sustainability Australia (SSA) is Australia’s most widely adopted sustainability certification program for downstream steel suppliers. Developed by the Australia Steel Institute in close collaboration with the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and major steel suppliers, it is specifically designed to meet the needs of the diverse businesses within the steel supply chain — including fabricators, roll formers, distributors, and reinforcing processors — ensuring a robust and effective approach to sustainability certification.
Recognised as a Type 1 Environmental Label under the Infrastructure Sustainability Council’s rating tools and endorsed as a best practice initiative within the GBCA’s Green Star rating tools, SSA certification ensures that steel supplied to projects meets the highest sustainability standards for both building and infrastructure developments.
Now with over 100 certified sites nationwide, SSA is strongly positioned to support projects in meeting both local content requirements and sustainability targets.
Sustainability Outcomes
As an independently third-party audited program, SSA covers a comprehensive range of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) indicators, with a strong focus on rigorous traceability and greenhouse gas emission reporting.
This provides specifiers and procurers with confidence that their steel purchases are from sustainable and responsible sources meeting market expectations and contributing to projects sustainability and local content targets.
Applicable Credits
| IS v1.2 | Innovation (Inn)-1, Innovation-1, Management Systems (Man) -1, Management Systems (Man)-6, Management Systems (Man)-7, Procurement and Purchasing (Pro)-1, Procurement and Purchasing (Pro)-2, Water (Wat)-1, Water (Wat)-2 |
| IS v2.1/IS v2.2 | Innovation-1, Leadership and Management (Lea)- 1, Leadership and Management (Lea)- 3, Resource Efficiency & Management (Rso)-4, Resource Efficiency & Management (Rso)-7, Sustainable Procurement (Spr)-2, Sustainable Procurement (Spr)-3, Water (Wat)-1 |
| Man-1 (ISv1.2) | Sustainability Leadership and commitment | By procuring steel from SSA Certified sites, projects demonstrate their commitment to sustainability as SSA Certified steel must meet best practice sustainability standards. |
| Man-6 (ISv1.2) | Knowledge sharing | SSA Certified sites must undertake Credit 1.3 Stakeholder Engagement and share sustainability knowledge and achievements. They are also required to publish certain documents such as their Modern Slavery Statement on their website as per Credit 3.2 Modern Slavery. This ensures sustainability knowledge is shared throughout the steel supply chain. |
| Man-7 (ISv1.2) | Decision-making | By procuring steel from SSA Certified sites, projects demonstrate they have incorporated sustainability aspects into Infrastructure Projects as SSA Certified sites must meet best practice sustainability standards, including Credit 1.2 Management Systems, Credit 2.1 Environmental Management Systems and Credit 3.2 WHS Management. |
| Pro-1 (ISv1.2) | Commitment to sustainable procurement | By procuring steel from SSA Certified sites, projects can demonstrate they are committed to incorporating sustainability aspects into the procurement process. |
| Pro-2 (ISv1.2) | Identification of suppliers | By procuring steel from SSA Certified sites, projects can demonstrate they have identified suitable steel suppliers that incorporate sustainability aspects into their management and manufacturing operations, and source their crude steel from responsible and sustainable suppliers. SSA Certified Suppliers are listed here - https://www.steelsustainability.com.au/supplier-listing/ SSA Certified sites are required to identify their suppliers in Credit 4.1 Steel Supply Sourcing credit and Credit 3.2 WHS Management and must source their steel from suppliers that are sustainable and responsible and are verified as a SSA Verified Supplier https://www.steelsustainability.com.au/resources/verified-ssa-steel-suppliers/ |
| Wat-1 (ISv1.2) | Water use monitoring and reduction | Under Credit 4.1, SSA Certified sites are required to source from SSA Verified mills that must monitor and reduce water use under Credit 4.1D. By purchasing sustainable steel from SSA Certified suppliers, the project can demonstrate water use during crude steel manufacturing is reduced. |
| Wat-2 (ISv1.2) | Replace potable water | SSA Certified are required to source from SSA Verified mills that must monitor and reduce water use under Credit 4.1D. By purchasing sustainable steel from SSA Certified suppliers, the project can demonstrate water use during crude steel manufacturing is reduced |
| Mat-1 (ISv1.2) | Materials footprint measurement and reduction | Under Credit 4.1 SSA Certified sites are required to source from SSA Verified mills that provide Environmental Product Declarations (Credit 4.1A) for materials produced at the crude steel stage. By procuring steel from SSA Certified sites sustainability is addressed across the entire steel supply chain. |
| Mat-2 (ISv1.2) | Environmentally labelled products and supply chains | SSA is classified as a Type 1 Environmental Label under the ISC rating tool. By procuring steel from SSA Certified sites, the project is assured the steel is from sustainable sources in the steel supply chain. |
| Inn-1 (ISv1.2) | Innovation | Contributes to Innovation Challenge 8: Sustainable Suppliers and ISupply. |
| Lea-1 (ISv2.1/2.2) | Sustainability Leadership and commitment | By procuring steel from SSA Certified sites, projects demonstrate their commitment to sustainability as SSA Certified steel must meet best practice sustainability standards. |
| Lea-3 (ISv2.1/2.2) | Knowledge Sharing | SSA Certified sites are required to have share sustainability knowledge under Credit 1.3 Stakeholder Engagement SSA Certified sites must undertake Credit 1.3 Stakeholder Engagement and share sustainability knowledge and achievements. They are also required to publish certain documents such as their Modern Slavery Statement on their website as per Credit 3.2 Modern Slavery. This ensures sustainability knowledge is shared throughout the steel supply chain. |
| Spr-2 (ISv2.1/2.2) | Supplier Assessment and Selection | By procuring steel from SSA Certified sites, projects can demonstrate they have selected steel suppliers that contribute to sustainability objectives and this will drive innovation in the steel supply chain, improving uptake of the scheme and the overall sustainability performance of the steel industry. SSA Certified Suppliers are listed here - https://www.steelsustainability.com.au/supplier-listing/ SSA Certified sites are required to source their steel from suppliers that are sustainable and responsible and are verified as a SSA Verified Supplier https://www.steelsustainability.com.au/resources/verified-ssa-steel-suppliers/ |
| Spr-3 (ISv2.1/2.2) | Contract and Supplier Management | y procuring SSA Certified sustainable steel, Infrastructure Projects are assured that the steel supplied to their project meets sustainability objectives and targets expected of the market, the Infrastructure Sustainability Council and the Green Building Council of Australia, and drives innovation across the steel supply chain, improving uptake of the scheme and the overall sustainability performance of the steel industry. |
| Rso- 4 (ISv2.1/2.2) | Resource Recovery and Management | By procuring SSA Certified steel, the project is assured at least 80% of the waste from the manufacturing of steel is diverted from landfill (SSA Credit 5.1). |
| Rso-6 (ISv2.1/2.2) | Material Life Cycle Impact Measurement and Management | Under Credit 4.1, SSA Certified sites are required to source from SSA Verified mills that provide Environmental Product Declarations (Credit 4.1A) for materials produced at the crude steel stage. Together, these requirements ensure that sustainability is addressed across the entire supply chain. |
| Rso-7 (ISv2.1/2.2) | Sustainability Labelled Products and Supply Chains | SSA is classified as a Type 1 Environmental Label under the ISC rating tool. By procuring steel from SSA Certified sites, the project is assured the steel is from sustainable sources in the steel supply chain. Under Credit 4.1, SSA Certified sites are required to source from SSA Verified mills that provide Environmental Product Declarations (Credit 4.1A) for materials produced at the crude steel stage. |
| Wat-1 (ISv2.1/2.2) | Avoiding Water Use | SSA Certified sites are required to source from SSA Verified mills that must reduce water use under Credit 4.1D |
| Inn-1 (v2.1/v2.2) | Inn-1 – Innovation | Contributes to Innovation Challenge 4: Sustainable Suppliers and ISupply. |