Southeast Asia’s transition towards lower-carbon steel is gaining momentum, but gaps in emissions data, supply-chain traceability and verification continue to make credible green claims difficult.

In a recent S&P Global Energy feature, Yap Ee Gin, Senior Sustainability Strategist at Climate Asia, shared insights into the practical challenges surrounding carbon accounting and green steel verification across the region.

She highlighted that emissions calculations are only as reliable as the underlying data and supporting documentation. Energy records, procurement documents and production data must be properly validated before carbon claims can be considered credible. Even where third-party verification is conducted, differences in how programme operators interpret thresholds and requirements may lead to inconsistent outcomes.

The article also examines the lack of a commonly accepted definition of “green steel.” While some stakeholders focus on lower greenhouse gas emissions, others associate green steel with recycled content or specific production routes. These differing interpretations can make supplier comparisons, procurement decisions and product-level carbon claims more complex.

As regulatory requirements such as the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism increase scrutiny of embedded emissions, stronger data transparency, traceability and independent verification will become increasingly important for steel producers, suppliers and buyers across Southeast Asia.

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Originally published by S&P Global Energy: https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news/metals/061626-ferrous-week-southeast-asias-green-steel-push-faces-verification-hurdles