Sustainable Constructional Steel

Home / Certification Schemes / Sustainability / Sustainable Constructional Steel more...

What is Sustainable Constructional Steel certification?

The CARES Sustainable Constructional Steel (SCS) Scheme is an accredited, independent and impartial certification scheme that aims to improve the environmental, social, and economic management of steel manufacturers, traders and fabricators as well as the performance of their products. Launched in 2009 as part of our commitment to continually seeking ways to improve the steel industry, CARES released its 9th version in 2020 to help deliver more sustainable construction and infrastructure across the entire global supply chain.

CARES has released the 10th version of the Scheme (SCS v10), the first substantive revision in five years. Version 10 fundamentally restructures the Scheme: instead of a single document covering the whole steel value chain, there are now role-specific Operational Assessment Schedules (OAS), Guidance Documents and Self-Assessment and Audit Workbooks for Steel Manufacturers (Steel Mills and Rolling Mills), Traders and Fabricators. Version 10 also places greater emphasis on performance and transparency, science-based and context-based targets, and responsible sourcing due diligence aligned with OECD guidance.

The products within the Scheme include reinforcing carbon steel, reinforcing stainless steel, feedstock steel for further processing, structural steels, hot rolled flat steel, steel rail, PC wire, PC strand and other steels used in construction and infrastructure. It applies to steel manufacturers (steel mills and rolling mills), steel traders and fabricators who process steel into building products used in construction projects.

Informed by stakeholder input, the goal of the Scheme is to provide a robust and transparent mechanism that communicates the overall sustainability performance of constructional steel products clearly and simply to designers, specifiers and clients. Minimum mandatory requirements provide the baseline, with credit requirements incentivising and recognising better performance.


Value of the scheme

Constructional steel forms a significant part of any major construction project. The supply chain for constructional steel—raw materials, production, distribution, processing and delivery to a construction site—is complex. At each stage in the supply chain, steel is transferred from one company to another. Confidence in purchasing and effective local management of the supply chain are essential to ensure construction projects are delivered on time, on budget and to specification.

Constructional steel manufacturers, traders and processors are coming under increasing pressure to take proactive steps which reflect the environmental, social, ethical and economic impacts of their operations and products. Buyers’ purchasing decisions are increasingly driven by efforts to ensure positive impacts and reduce any negative social, environmental, and economic impacts.

The CARES approach relies on responsible sourcing of raw materials, full product traceability and a digital record, providing a ‘chain of custody’ across the entire process from manufacturer to end user. It provides confidence to clients’ procurement teams, specifiers and construction consultants that the certification process has verified a broad range of requirements without them having to repeat any part of the process. Certified performance data is available to them to inform their decision-making. Version 10 extends the Scheme to steel traders, who are expected to carry out their own due diligence and pass sustainability information on in an unbroken chain of custody.


Company-specific verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)

One key feature and benefit of the CARES SCS Scheme is independently validated carbon footprint data and an advanced life cycle assessment (LCA) calculator that provides company-specific verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) aligned with ISO 14025 and EN 15804 standards. In addition to CARES’ validation of the data, a world-class verifier provides an additional, independent third-party layer of verification, with all EPD reports published on the ‘CARES EPD’ website.


CARES Sector Average verified EPD

A Sector Average EPD is developed by an industry association and declares the average product of multiple companies in a clearly defined sector and/or geographical area.

CARES Sector Average verified EPD is based on the average performance of participating companies that produce carbon reinforcing steel using the scrap/electric arc furnace route.

If the availability of a CARES company-specific verified EPD is limited, the CARES sector-average verified EPD can be used by construction clients.

The sector-average EPD can be used most effectively at the design stage to estimate the likely upfront embodied carbon of a project. When the project is constructed and the suppliers are known, the sector-average values can be replaced with company-specific EPD values to provide the most accurate figures for each project.


Scheme basis and principles

The concept of ‘Materiality’—the issues and impacts that are most significant and relevant to each organisation and its stakeholders along the entire value chain—is used to inform the selection and prioritisation of issues to be managed. Companies must demonstrate effective, systematic management of these (and other relevant issues), as well as improved performance. Stakeholder inclusion and opinion must be regularly monitored, and the outcomes of stakeholder engagement should be communicated in support of continuous improvement in sustainability performance.

The Scheme builds on the full product traceability requirements defined by its product certification schemes. The principles of BS 8902—inclusivity, integrity, stewardship and transparency—form the basis of the CARES SCS Scheme and its accreditation. Companies must demonstrate how these are incorporated into their management practices. They are also assessed against a series of criteria covering ethical, environmental, social and economic impacts. Companies are required to report and demonstrate continual improvement in their sustainability performance. Companies can map themselves against a maturity matrix according to BS 8902, which provides characteristics that demonstrate an evolution of management practices, enabling organisations to track their progress over time. Version 10 places greater emphasis on performance, not only management systems: it combines transparency, effective management systems and clear performance requirements aligned with the needs indicated by climate and ecological science and the organisation’s context, including science-based decarbonisation pathways aligned with the Paris Agreement.


List of CARES SCS scheme stakeholders:
• Construction Industry Specifiers
• Construction Industry Contractors
• Building and Infrastructure Users
• Steel Manufacturers (Steel Mills and Rolling Mills)
• Steel Traders
• Steel Fabricators
• CARES Board
• CARES SCS Scheme Sustainability Committee Members
• CARES Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) members and Chair’s nominees
• CARES staff and contractors
• Steel industry bodies, including World Steel Association
• Construction industry bodies like the Construction Products Association (CPA)
• World Green Building Council and regional GBCs, including UKGBC, EGBC, GBCA, SGBC and HKGBC
• Construction industry evaluation and certification bodies, including BREEAM, LEED, ESTIDAMA, PEARL, GREENSTAR, AL-SAFAT, GSAS and other regional organisations that manage building design criteria and evaluations.
• Accreditation bodies, including UKAS, SAC, HKAS, EIAC and JASANZ.
• Competitor Certification Bodies
• Broader construction materials industry bodies and companies
• Communities near steel manufacturers, traders, fabricators and suppliers
• Non-Governmental Organisations representing environmental, social, and economic interests.
• Governments and politicians
• Workers within the construction and steel industries
• Clients, specifiers and users of buildings and infrastructure
• Enforcement agencies that represent compliance interests relating to environmental, occupational health and safety and other sustainability aspects
• Standard development organisations
• Sustainability Practitioners
• 3rd party verification bodies for EPDs
• Building research bodies and standards developers, e.g., BRE
• Scientific and academic bodies
• Broader certification programs
• Initiatives to drive performance improvement like Race to Zero


Accreditation and recognitions


What are the prerequisites for sustainable steel certification

• Product conformity certificate(s): Responsibility for the sustainable constructional steel supply chain placed upon a core benefit of SCS product for reinforcing concrete, or for its use in a built structure. There are also other attributes relating to a product’s performance, e.g., strength and ductility, which are stated in relevant product standard, and hence constitute the 'specified product'. Those must be demonstrated with relevant product conformity certification of steel for the reinforcement of concrete and/or feedstock material for the production of steel for the reinforcement of concrete; or factory production control certificate in case of structural steels and hot rolled flat steels.
• Quality management systems certified to ISO 9001
• Environmental management systems certified to ISO 14001 
• Occupational health and safety management systems certified to ISO 45001
• A traceability mechanism: ISO 22095 'Chain of custody' defined Identity Preserved Chain of Custody model from production to use in construction site


How to achieve certification?

Companies that are eligible to apply for certification and fulfil the prerequisite requirements begin the assessment procedure with a detailed review of their application declarations and the scope of their Sustainability Management System Manual (or equivalent documented evidence) against the requirements of the CARES SCS Scheme. The company’s product conformity, quality, environmental, health and safety, and sustainability management systems are all reviewed. A two-stage audit process is carried out. This includes a thorough review of evidence and the verification of data on site against the Self-Assessment and Audit Workbook (Annex 1). The workbook includes a series of Key Performance Indicators and the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) dataset. The number of criteria depends on the value chain role; for steel manufacturers, the Operational Assessment Schedule contains mandatory and voluntary credit criteria. A group of industry and sustainability experts has developed these to cover the entire supply chain from raw materials and the production and processing of constructional steel through to the delivery of the finished product to the construction site.

The auditing team may comprise one or more auditors, depending on the size and complexity of the company’s activities. After a successful assessment and recommendation for certification, a Certificate of Approval will be issued.

Certificates of approval are valid for three years. Surveillance audits are typically conducted annually and a recertification assessment is carried out every three years. Approved firms complete the Annex 1 workbook every year and submit it to CARES at least two weeks before the audit.

The supplier remains responsible for compliance with legal requirements, voluntary commitments (for example compliance with the ILO standards, the declaration of human rights, its own public commitments) and standards and applying best practices as far as is reasonably practicable. The Scheme provides credits for achievements beyond compliance and minimum thresholds. Credits can be gained for performance that meets specified criteria above the mandatory certification level as part of the CARES ‘Rosette Rating System’. Beyond basic certification, there are 4 additional performance levels reflecting good, better, best practice and aspirational ‘sustainable’ steel (1, 2, 3 or 4 Rosettes). The 4th Rosette represents a transition pathway approach to improvement towards science and context-based performance levels. The ‘4 Rosette Rating’ requires near zero emission steel production, responsible sourcing, good safety record, sustainably produced and processed constructional steel, with a digital record. It is an indication of where change is needed if the industry were to be fully sustainable, ethical and responsible; CARES recognises that organisations cannot yet meet the 4 Rosette Rating. The Rosette Rating System was introduced as part of a series of improvements in the 9th version of the Scheme and has been updated in the 10th version to reflect the revised criteria and the differing needs of each value chain role. Scores are totalled by section and the final Rosette Rating is the minimum achieved in any section. A Rosette Rating can only change at recertification. A firm that believes it has sufficient evidence to improve its rating earlier can notify the CARES Scheme Manager at least 15 days before a planned surveillance audit and request that the recertification assessment is brought forward to replace it.

CARES collects, audits, collates, and reports the sector sustainability performance data in line with requirements set out in BS 8902 - Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products and the Scheme Principles.

Please contact us to obtain guidance if you wish to apply or discuss the scheme.


Why choose CARES? 

As an independent, profit-for-purpose company, CARES is completely focused on the quality of the products and processes we certify. Together with the wider constructional steel industry and other stakeholders, CARES has developed an objective and workable approach to the identification, collection, auditing and reporting of sustainability data and management system processes to deliver continual performance improvement. The Scheme uses industry best practice and international standards throughout the whole constructional steel supply chain.

Achieving certification to the CARES SCS Scheme requires considerable effort and commitment from a company. It is often the beginning of improved processes and business performance. CARES provides free marketing support to promote successful certification and allows a certificated company to display the relevant CARES ‘sustainability certification mark’ on publicity and stationery. All certified companies are automatically included in the CARES Certified Companies section of this website.

Having invested so much time and business resource in a management system which includes the requirements of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 as well as rigorously reviewing and controlling processes to a level which assures consistent achievement of product compliance, there is enormous value in entrusting this assessment to a certification body that understands and is highly experienced in constructional steel products, processes and supply chain.

CARES knows that a business relationship is based on mutual trust and understanding. Our experts, who have hands-on experience in this industry, work alongside our customers to get under the skin of their operations, ensuring that CARES always delivers the quality assurance that our brand stands for. The CARES difference is the guarantee of an independent and impartial review and the unrivalled knowledge provided by our specialist team to help deliver more sustainable construction and infrastructure across the entire global supply chain.


CARES SCS Scheme Manual and Operational Assessment Schedules 

The Scheme requirements are defined in the CARES SCS Scheme Manual version 10. 

The Operational Assessment Schedules for Steel Manufacturers, Steel Fabricators and Steel Traders amplify and particularise the requirements of the Scheme in relation to the specific operations, processes, or services involved in the provision of construction products and/or associated services.


CARES SCS Scheme Yearly Reports  

2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012.


CARES SCS Scheme Audit Results  

2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015.