In 2004, Silcotub – a company from the steel industry – entered the Tenaris group, and the strategy changed from that moment. After Romania’s accession to the European Union, the company had to had to adapt and focus its attention on environmental protection.
In 2007, TenarisSilcotub was the first company to obtain the Integrated Environmental Authorization. From that moment on, the company focused on minimizing the impact on the environment. Thus, it managed to reach the 10-year decarbonization target in only 4 and a half years, more precisely to reduce CO2 emissions by 30% compared to 2018.
The most important initiatives, best practices and solutions that helped the company were realized without major investments or re-engineering, but with a firm commitment from the team.
TenarisSilcotub has invested and continues to invest in energy efficiency, to consume fewer resources and in a more efficient way. Starting from 2019, energy efficiency has risen to the top of priorities regarding the company’s decarbonization plan. The focus is to use resources more efficiently and to use energy from less polluting sources, such as solar, wind or other sources without a CO2 footprint.
Circular economy: the business model involves the replacement of primary resources with alternative materials, those wastes that would end up being thrown away without being used.
These alternative materials help generate and sustain the energy needed to melt scrap metal, reducing electricity consumption and reducing the CO2 footprint.
Employee involvement
The company constantly invests in the training and preparation of employees. Such examples are the awareness campaigns #ZeroPlastic, through which they eliminated plastic containers from the company, and #FaraHartie, through which they promote the digitization of internal processes.
These actions have positioned TenarisSilcotub in the top 20 most efficient steel plants in the world, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Steel Association.
Communicating environmental goals
TenarisSilcotub has reviewed all procedures and work instructions to ensure that environmental projection practices are integrated into all departments and processes.
The company has defined clear, measurable and specific objectives and this contributes to the transmission of the message and strategy to the teams, so that the contribution of the employees can be measured and exemplified.
The company accelerated employee engagement actions through awareness campaigns that are based on responsibility and prevention. A major role is played by the top management team, as they are actively involved and support all internal actions for environmental protection.
External partnerships
TenarisSilcotub launched an ecological education program called “Academy of Little Environmentalists” in the communities of Zalău and Călăraşi, reaching over 600 students. This program aims to teach 6th grade students the importance of environmental protection through hands-on experiences. Thus, students see cause and effect and experiment with different materials and processes, giving them a real perspective on what it means to protect and protect the environment.
The second initiative was the organization of the Environment Awareness Day event, in which more than 40 suppliers from 15 countries participated. Its objective was to raise awareness among strategic collaborators on decarbonization, create a dialogue space to share experiences and action plans, but also to identify solutions that support sustainable development.
