JBCE Contribution to Call for Feedback on Impact Assessment of Ecodesign Requirements for Iron and Steel Products
On 12 August 2026, JBCE submitted its contribution to the European Commission's call for feedback on the impact assessment concerning the ecodesign requirements for iron and steel products.
While JBCE supports this initiative, we would like to highlight several concerns. As currently designed, these measures could affect not only the decarbonisation of the steel sector, but also product design, procurement practices, supply chain management, and efforts to improve the environmental performance of final products in downstream industries. JBCE is concerned that certain elements under consideration may inadvertently hinder the achievement of the EU’s policy objective of building sustainable supply chains.
Therefore, JBCE calls for:
- The scope to remain limited intermediate iron and steel products, in line with the European Commission's initial proposal. Any extension of the requirements to final products should only be considered following a comprehensive impact assessment demonstrating technical feasibility, acceptable economic burdens, proportionality and clear added value.
- Data parameters that structurally favour a particular production process, regarding the classification of low-carbon steel, not to be adopted. Instead, the framework should recognise the complementary roles of the Blast Furnace (BF) and Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) processes and appropriately reward decarbonisation efforts in the BF process, which remains essential for the production of high-performance steel products.
For more information, please contact info@jbce.org