Sector-specific standards. Buyer-driven pressure.
Scope 3 is where it lands.
Heavy industry — aluminium, steel, cement, chemicals, automotive components — operates within sector-specific certification ecosystems (ASI, ResponsibleSteel, GCCA) and faces increasing buyer-driven pressure (BMW, Apple, Audi, Nespresso) for low-carbon, traceable inputs. EU CBAM adds direct regulatory cost on carbon-intensive imports. The work spans certification, Scope 3 supplier programmes, and product-level carbon footprinting.
Six pressures shaping heavy industry ESG
ASI / ResponsibleSteel certification
Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance and Chain of Custody standards now anchor low-carbon aluminium markets — BMW, Audi, Apple, Nespresso source against ASI. ResponsibleSteel plays an analogous role in steel. Certification requires GHG performance thresholds (cradle-to-gate ≤ 4 tCO2e/t Al for "low carbon"), supply chain traceability, social and governance criteria — and re-certification on a defined cycle.
EU CBAM exposure
EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism — covering iron & steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen — imposes a carbon cost on imports into the EU. GCC manufacturers exporting to the EU face direct revenue impact. The MRV requirements interact with EU ETS methodology and require verified embedded emissions data product-by-product.
Scope 3 supplier emissions
For most manufacturers, Scope 3 dwarfs Scopes 1+2 combined. Category 1 (purchased goods & services), Category 4 (upstream transport), and Category 11 (use of sold products) typically dominate. Building credible Scope 3 inventories — beyond spend-based estimation — requires supplier engagement programmes, primary data collection, and methodology standardisation across complex supply chains.
EcoVadis & supplier audit programmes
Buyer-driven supplier assessment platforms — EcoVadis dominant — score across environment, labour, ethics, and sustainable procurement. Tier-1 buyers increasingly require Gold or Platinum-level scores for tender qualification. The work is twofold: (a) achieving the score yourself, and (b) running supplier audit programmes upstream of your own operations.
Product carbon footprint & Type III EPDs
Product-level cradle-to-gate emissions (ISO 14067, EN 15804) increasingly required for sector procurement (especially construction, automotive, electronics). Environmental Product Declarations (Type III EPDs) verified against PCRs are the typical output format. This is technical work — LCA software, allocation rules, third-party verification — distinct from corporate reporting.
Energy & process decarbonisation
For aluminium, ~60% of emissions come from electricity in smelting; for steel, ~75% from coke and coal in primary production; for cement, ~60% from process calcination. Decarbonisation pathways are sector-specific (renewable power for aluminium, hydrogen-DRI or scrap-EAF for steel, alternative binders for cement) and require capital-intensive transformation, not incremental efficiency.
Heavy industry-specific work
- ASI Certification ReadinessPerformance Standard gap analysis, Chain of Custody design, audit-readiness preparation.
- ResponsibleSteel ProgrammeSite-level standard implementation, GHG performance benchmarking, certification audit support.
- CBAM Compliance & VerificationEmbedded emissions methodology, product-level data architecture, verifier engagement.
- Scope 3 Inventory BuildHybrid spend/activity methodology, supplier engagement programme design, data quality scoring framework.
- EcoVadis Score ImprovementGap analysis, evidence package design, year-on-year score management.
- Supplier Audit ProgrammesRisk-based supplier segmentation, audit protocol design, on-site / remote audit delivery, remediation tracking.
- Product Carbon Footprint & EPDsISO 14067 / EN 15804 LCA, Type III EPD development, third-party verification coordination.
- Net-Zero RoadmapSector-specific decarbonisation pathway, capital plan, residual offset strategy.
Industry-specific frameworks
- Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI)Performance Standard V3 and Chain of Custody Standard. Mine-to-metal scope. Certification model adopted by BMW, Audi, Apple, Nespresso, Hydro, Rio Tinto, and many GCC producers.
- ResponsibleSteelSteel-sector certification covering site-level operations and progressively-stringent emissions performance thresholds.
- GCCA — Global Cement & Concrete AssociationNet Zero Roadmap for cement sector; Member Code of Performance.
- SBTi Sectoral Decarbonisation Approach (SDA)Sector-specific 1.5°C-aligned target methodology for aluminium, steel, cement, chemicals.
- EU CBAMCarbon Border Adjustment Mechanism — full operational phase from 2026 onwards.
- EcoVadisSupplier sustainability assessment platform — environment, labour, ethics, sustainable procurement.
- ISO 14067Product carbon footprint — quantification and communication.
- EN 15804 / ISO 21930Construction product Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
- GHG Protocol Product StandardProduct-level life cycle GHG accounting.
- ICMM — International Council on Mining & MetalsMining Principles, Performance Expectations, Climate Change Position Statement.
Tell us where you're stuck.
Sector-specific situations call for sector-specific reasoning. We don't apply a generic ESG playbook here.
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