Nucor EPD Compliance Case Study

Nucor Provides Transparency of Steel’s Environmental Impact in Expert Collaboration with Trinity Consultants

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Environmental Consulting

Industry

Metals Manufacturing

Location

United States

A career network connection between decision-makers at Nucor Corporation and Trinity Consultants set the stage for an ongoing project engagement wherein Trinity’s Sustainability and Assurance team is now developing an expanding list of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for Nucor’s various product lines.

Nucor and its affiliates manufacture steel and steel products at more than 300 operating facilities mostly in North America. Nucor’s Seattle, WA mill was the first site to engage Trinity’s LCA team to provide an EPD developed in compliance with the State of California requirements under the Buy Clean California Act (BCCA) which became effective July 1, 2022. BCCA establishes embodied carbon limits for structural steel, concrete reinforcing steel, flat glass, and mineral wool board insulation used in state infrastructure projects.

After this first engagement, Nucor moved to replace their previous vendor by engaging Trinity to be their LCA practitioner of choice. Trinity has collaborated with Nucor to produce numerous LCAs and EPDs for products manufactured across their operations since that timeframe.

Challenge

EPDs are based on LCAs of the product’s value chain including the raw materials and fuels used to manufacture a specific product. The development of an EPD requires that the product’s value chain be assessed for its environmental impact, from “cradle to gate.” That is, from the moment a raw material comes out of the ground to the point where the finished product leaves the manufacturing facility’s gate. This includes any fuel, electricity, or other inputs used in manufacturing the product.

Detailed data concerning these inputs can often be difficult to obtain. In some cases, comparable data must be used to clarify emission factors using reasonable assumptions, all of which makes creating EPD models extremely complex.

Solutions

Trinity’s engineers came to the table experienced in working with clients in the steel manufacturing sector. However, gaining clarity on Nucor’s specific process flow and “cradle to gate” value chain would require a broad and deep discovery process conducted under a compressed timeframe.

Trinity worked closely with the client to identify data sources essential to constructing the various LCAs needed for a valid EPD. In several cases, complex calculations had to be created to reflect credible air emission factors where data was unavailable.

These data were then entered into a specialized LCA software tool to arrive at an EPD suitable for BCCA review. In the analysis, Nucor was able to publish an EPD demonstrating compliance with BCCA requirements in May 2022, two months ahead of the BCCA deadline.

Services Performed

The team conducted greenhouse gas emissions analysis, performed life cycle assessments and produced Environmental Product Declarations, and provided third-party verification with standards alignment. They also developed custom tools, delivered training, and offered ongoing support.

Sustainability Program Support and ESG Disclosure

Emissions Calculations, Inventories & Reporting

Decarbonization Strategy Development

Third-Party Verification Services

Result

Nucor used its successful west coast experience to launch ongoing EPD projects, engaging Trinity as its preferred partner to develop life cycle environmental impact assessments and declarations for products and facilities across its entire portfolio.

Nucor is using the findings to chart a global sustainability strategy that will reduce its carbon emissions across the corporate footprint. Indeed, with Trinity as its LCA practitioner, Nucor has strengthened its brand as a sustainable manufacturing entity.

60+

LCAs Published

13

EPDs Published

100%

Compliance Score

We are very impressed by Trinity’s willingness to engage with full transparency on the LCA and EPD process, truly working as a partner with Nucor to achieve our ESG goals. Their collaboration and understanding of the declaration process, ability to identify and bridge data gaps, and quickly model EPDs for our family of steel products was outstanding, and I look forward to a continued partnership.

Sustainability Specialist | Nucor