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Chongqing, China, 18 November 2015 – The World Steel Association (worldsteel) and the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) co-hosted a major conference on “Green Manufacturing, the Future of Steel and Automotive 2015”. The conference focused on sharing ideas and perspectives on how to reduce the environmental footprint of the industries by applying Life Cycle Assessment and why more collaboration between the two industries is required in achieving this goal. Over 170 delegates attended the conference, which was held at the InterContinental Chongqing Hotel on 17 and 18 November. The conference was opened by Edwin Basson, Director General of worldsteel. Guangning Zhang, Chairman of CISA, and Xingyong Tu, Chief Economist at the Municipal government of Chongqing, delivered welcome speeches. The keynote speaker Tiejun Luo, Vice Director of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), addressed delegates on the policy development for industrial materials industry in China. Qiuxia Wen, Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy, Ministry of Environmental Protection (PRCEE, MEP) gave a presentation on Green credits for environment management in the automotive and steel industries. The key topics included lightweight vehicle trends, the latest innovations in steel applications, and eco-design for automotive materials. The outlook for the steel and automotive industries, integrated solutions for lightweight vehicles and optimisation of the steel-automobile supply chain were also discussed. Edwin Basson, Director General of worldsteel said: “Steel producing and automobile manufacturing are interdependent throughout the supply chain. Both are major global industries which have a common mission to ensure sustainable economic, environmental and social development. Reinforced cross-industry collaboration will allow the two industries to face their common challenges and transform their business models to enhance their sustainability credentials. Steel offers incomparable qualities for the automotive industry. Not only does it provide superior strength, durability, formability and ease of use, but over the course of its life cycle it is also more environmentally friendly in terms of carbon emissions when compared to alternative materials. Using a life cycle assessment methodology in this way gives a more accurate picture of a vehicle’s carbon footprint. With further innovation, steel will continue to be the optimal material for sustainable automotive manufacturing.” Cees ten Broek, Director, WorldAutoSteel said: “Steel generates seven to 20 times fewer primary production emissions than its competitors, which secures its position as the material of choice for green automotive products. The steel industry is strongly committed to supporting innovative vehicle models for future mobility, such as are those emerging in China and other regions, with the latest in steels and steel technologies.” Zhang Ning, Deputy Secretary General, Society of Automotive Engineers of China (SAE-China): “The key issues in the current automotive industry are energy saving and improving efficiency through innovation. As China is the world’s largest country for both steel producing and car manufacturing, how we address these issues has a global impact. We believe that a closer partnership between the automotive and steel industries will help achieve our common goals and China should play a critical role in leading the collaboration.”Presentations and keynote speeches of the conference can be downloaded from worldsteel.org. World Steel Association (worldsteel) is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world. worldsteel members represent approximately 85% of the world’s steel production, including over 150 steel producers with 9 of the 10 largest steel companies, national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. |
Reinforced cross-industry collaboration between the steel and automotive industries to address environmental challenges