(Nucor, 20.Sep.2022) — Nucor Corporation ( NYSE: NUE) announced that the new steel plate mill being built in Brandenburg, Kentucky has publicly registered to pursue LEED v4 for Building and Design certification. Nucor Steel Brandenburg is the first steel mill in the world to pursue certification under LEED v4, which is more stringent than previous LEED rating systems and ambitiously aligns each credit category with sustainable performance, climate change, and revolutionizes the manufacturing landscape through third-party transparency and reporting requirements.
“Sustainability has been at the core of Nucor’s business model since we first started making steel in the 1960s. Our recycling production method makes us one of the cleanest steelmakers in the world. LEED certification extends our sustainability efforts to the materials and operating system choices we make in constructing this new steel mill,” said Leon Topalian, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer.
The specific LEED features of Nucor Steel Brandenburg include preservation of a large portion of forested area on the property, lighting reduction strategies, reduced parking footprint, support for green vehicles, and water and energy efficiency measures. In addition, over 75% of the construction waste generated building the steel mill has been diverted from landfills. Sustainable building materials, many directly produced by Nucor divisions, have also been used in the construction of the mill.
“Our Nucor Steel Brandenburg team is proud to be the first Nucor mill to undertake LEED v4 certification. We make our products in a sustainable way and these products, such as steel for offshore wind towers, are going to help build the green economy. It is only natural that we would construct this mill using sustainable materials and practices,” said Johnny Jacobs, Vice President and General Manager of Nucor Steel Brandenburg.
Expected to begin production at the end of 2022, the new $1.7bn Nucor Steel Brandenburg facility will produce 1.2 million tons of steel plate annually. It will be able to produce 97% of plate products consumed domestically and will be one of only a few mills in the world capable of supplying the critical steel components required to build offshore wind farms.
The US Green Building Council created the LEED rating in 1998 as a way to standardize and recognize sustainable construction methods. Since the first release (LEED v1) subsequent versions have pushed the building industry towards higher levels of sustainable design and construction. The current rating system is LEED v4.
In addition to pursuing LEED v4 certification, Nucor will continue to be the sustainable leader in the steel industry by further reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity, which is already among the lowest in the world. Nucor is lowering its GHG intensity by increasing its utilization of renewable energy and supporting the continued growth of clean power generation in the U.S.; investing in new energy efficiency technologies; capturing and storing CO2 emissions; and encouraging GHG reductions throughout the steel supply chain.
Through its use of recycled scrap-based electric arc furnaces, Nucor’s steelmaking GHG intensity is less than one-fourth of the global average and one-fifth of the average integrated steel producer. Earlier this year, Nucor began producing Econiq™, the world’s first net-zero carbon steel at scale, to help its customers meet their sustainability goals.
____________________
