How is steel slag sold to cement plants counted in a Ballari steel plant's footprint?
Slag sold as a by product is not waste: its emissions stay with the steel, and selling it earns no deduction from your own figure. The cement plant using granulated slag counts only grinding and transport, which is why slag cement has a lower footprint.
For the steel plant
All emissions from making iron and steel stay in your inventory. A slag sale is revenue, not a reduction. If you pay to dispose of slag, that cost and its emissions are Scope 3 category 5.
For the cement buyer
Granulated slag replaces clinker, which carries calcination and kiln fuel CO2. The buyer counts slag drying, grinding and freight, usually far less per tonne than clinker.
Avoid double claims
Do not claim the cement plant's clinker saving as your own reduction. Each company reports its own emissions.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads electricity bills (CEA grid factor 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, CO2 Baseline Database version 21.0) and diesel, LPG and gas invoices (IPCC 2006 defaults) into a dated, fingerprinted Scope 1 and 2 record for each site. Intensity per unit uses the activity count you enter, and estimates are labelled as estimates.
Sources: GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
Last reviewed 2026-10-21.