Making Climate Part of Every Steel Loan

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The Sustainable STEEL Principles Are Going Open-Source!

After two years as an agreement-based initiative, the Sustainable STEEL Principles (SSP) are now an open-source framework — free to use, more flexible, and designed to encourage broader adoption by financial institutions. This transition makes it easier than ever for banks to assess, disclose, and align their steel sector portfolios with climate goals, driving greater impact across the industry.

What’s changing?

✅ Open-Source & Free – No sign-up required; all SSP components are publicly available.
✅ Independent Disclosures – Banks report alignment in their annual reports; no collective SSP report.
✅ Enhanced Flexibility – Banks can choose to disclose their climate alignment either as a percent deviation or using the alignment zone approach (see Section V for further details).
✅ Sustained Governance – RMI will maintain and update the framework with input from an advisory group.
✅ Expanded Data Options – Banks are no longer limited to a single third-party data provider when borrower data isn’t available.

What’s staying the same?

The SSP remain the leading climate alignment framework for steel sector financing.
They continue to provide a robust, credible approach to measuring and disclosing portfolio alignment.

By making the SSP more accessible and adaptable, we aim to accelerate financial institutions’ role in the steel sector’s decarbonization. Join us in shaping the future of sustainable steel finance!

Learn More

The Sustainable STEEL Principles are a common measurement and disclosure framework designed for banks to support the steel industry in forging a pathway to net-zero carbon emissions.

Users of the Sustainable STEEL Principles follow five core principles:

Standardized assessment

to annually assess their climate alignment according to the guidance and methodology

Transparent reporting

to publicly acknowledge participation and disclose progress annually

Enactment

to source data first from Borrowers, and otherwise from the third-party data provider

Engagement

to engage clients on net-zero transition plans, available financial products, and expectations for emissions reductions

Leadership

to utilize the framework for advocacy, in the interest of the decarbonization of the steel industry

How the SSP were developed

This innovative, sector-specific standard was carefully crafted with input from a range of stakeholders to incentivize the decarbonization of the steel sector. A Working Group led by ING and co-led by Societe Generale, with participation from Citi, Standard Chartered, and UniCredit, and facilitated by RMI’s Center for Climate-Aligned Finance, designed the Sustainable STEEL Principles over a year of intensive collaboration.

Over 80 stakeholder organizations reviewed and informed the framework, including an Industry Group of steel companies; an Expert Advisory Group of technical experts and NGO representatives; and over 20 additional banks on the Review Group. The design was shaped by a close collaboration with the Net-Zero Steel Initiative, as well as the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative.

Decarbonizing Steel Is Crucial

Steel is used in everything from our cars and fridges to our buildings and planes. However, because of the sector’s reliance on coal, it is also the largest source of industrial CO2 emissions, with annual emissions exceeding that of India. The steel sector is responsible for 7% of all manmade carbon emissions today and demand for steel is projected to rise 30% by 2050.

Resources

The Sustainable STEEL Principles Framework

Download the framework

Sustainable Principles 2023 Annual Report

Read the report

For Users:

The Sustainable STEEL Principles Agreement Framework ›

Please contact RMI via the contact form below to access the additional technical resources below:

Sample covenant clause
Benchmark data
Client reporting template
User portfolio alignment score calculator

Supporting Materials:

Partners

“For members of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, sector-specific pathways, metrics and methodologies are crucial not only for setting but also for implementing credible decarbonisation targets. The steel-specific methodology in the Sustainable STEEL Principles offers banks a valuable and NZBA-aligned framework for effective net-zero client engagement in the steel sector.”

Remco Fisher, Climate Lead for the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI)

The following organizations endorse the general thrust of the Sustainable STEEL Principles in enabling lenders to align portfolios with climate targets by benchmarking progress and engaging clients in support of the net-zero transition.