LCA on Solid Bar products

When the LCA model for solid bars was updated with production data for 2024, results showed clear improvements in the product carbon footprint – including a reduction of up to 26% for Sanmac® 2205. This underscores the value of regularly updating the LCA model with current data to accurately reflect on-going sustainability efforts. Some examples of what is driving this continued improvement are more accurate calculations of the steelmaking emissions, increased use of biogas and the integration of more supplier-specific data.

Reducing Carbon Footprint Through Strategic Material Choices

Producing stainless steel requires both raw materials and energy, and the choice of sourcing locations and production practices has a considerable influence on the resulting carbon footprint. The climate impact varies widely depending on where the raw materials originate, and increasing the share of recycled content significantly reduces overall emissions.

In the case of Sanmac® 316L, Alleima relies heavily on recycled material with the remaining share of virgin alloys representing a disproportionately large part of the product’s total climate impact. Across different regions, the availability of recycled material differs greatly, and areas with lower access must depend more on virgin alloys, which leads to substantially higher emissions.