Estimating Commodity Emissions Using Nationwide Data

Our client wanted to increase market share for their commodity product by demonstrating that it was more sustainable than the same commodity produced in other countries. JBE was asked to perform a detailed comparison of the environmental impacts associated with steelmaking in one country compared to another. It was a challenging goal, in part because facility-by-facility actual yields are seldom publicly available, making it difficult to estimate the impacts of producing various commodities such as steel or electric power.

Approach:
JBE developed a novel approach to filling this data gap by aggregating emissions reported from all individual steelmaking facilities in the country of interest, and comparing that to the total volume of steel actually produced (typically reported by the US EIA – Energy Information Administration). This resulted in an estimate of emissions per unit produced using nationwide data.

Impact:
Using this approach, JBE made a very accurate estimate allowing competing products to be compared. For example, the impacts from steel making could be compared between countries. As a result, our client could make well-supported sustainability claims with the potential to influence consumer behavior and ultimately improve market share.

Our client commented that transparency of the documentation for the approach the study was of exceptional quality.