# How do I benchmark a steel supplier's carbon intensity: what is a good number for BF-BOF, DRI and scrap EAF routes?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/steel-supplier-benchmark-carbon-intensity

Compare the supplier against its own production route, not one global number. Blast furnace steel carries a high intensity, scrap based electric arc furnace steel a much lower one, and coal based DRI is often higher than the blast furnace route. Check worldsteel's latest indicators for current averages.

## How the routes compare

Use the route comparison to spot outliers, not as targets. A supplier far below others on its route should be able to explain why, for example renewable power, high scrap share or a narrow boundary.

- Global average: check the latest year in worldsteel's sustainability indicators.
- Blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF): at the high end among the main routes.
- Scrap based electric arc furnace (EAF): much lower, depending heavily on the grid factor of the electricity used.
- Gas based DRI with EAF: usually between the two.
- Coal based DRI, common in India: often above BF-BOF, because coal fired rotary kilns are less efficient.

## Make sure the numbers are comparable

1. Same boundary: crude steel or finished product, and whether upstream steps such as pellets, coke, lime and oxygen are included.
2. Same gases and units: t CO2 or t CO2e per tonne.
3. Same electricity basis: location-based grid factor, or market-based with certificates.
4. Same year and same method: worldsteel, the CBAM method, or an EPD under ISO 14025.

## India's Green Steel Taxonomy

The Ministry of Steel has published a Taxonomy of Green Steel that rates steel by emission intensity per tonne of finished steel. Ask Indian suppliers whether they hold a rating and on what boundary, and read the current Ministry of Steel text for the thresholds and rating process.

## Using CBAM default values as a ceiling

The EU publishes default embedded emission values for steel goods by CN code and country, with mark-ups that rise over the definitive period. A supplier with verified actual emissions below the default saves the importer CBAM cost, which makes the default a practical benchmark for EU-bound steel.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible holds the supplier's fuel and electricity evidence and computes only from approved factors, so you can see what a supplier's own number rests on. It does not rate or rank suppliers or publish steel benchmarks.

- [Steel industry](https://senseible.earth/industries/steel)
- [CBAM cost: blast furnace vs EAF vs DRI](https://senseible.earth/answers/cbam-cost-blast-furnace-vs-eaf-vs-dri-steel)
- [Supplier emissions risk calculator](https://senseible.earth/calculators/supplier-emissions-risk)

Sources: [worldsteel Sustainability Indicators report (annual)](https://worldsteel.org), [Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621 (CBAM default values)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/2621/oj/eng)

Last reviewed 2026-10-15. Green Steel Taxonomy thresholds and worldsteel averages change; confirm the latest editions before relying on them.