Aperam South America becomes the 1st in its segment to obtain ResponsibleSteel™ certification in Latin America

Aperam South America becomes the 1st in its segment

to obtain ResponsibleSteel™ certification in Latin America

Aperam’s South America successfully certified to be operating at ResponsibleSteel™ Standard by independent auditors

Luxembourg -  March 2, 2023 (10:30 CET) - Aperam announces today that its Stainless South America operations have been successfully certified to be operating at the ResponsibleSteel™ Standard, becoming the first special flat steel manufacturer in Latin America to obtain the ResponsibleSteel™ certification. Committed to maximizing steel's contribution to a sustainable society, Aperam underwent, over the last 12 months, a rigorous international audit process.  ResponsibleSteel™ is the only global multistakeholder Standard and certification program in the industry.

Mr. Frederico Ayres Lima, Chief Executive Officer for Aperam South America and Member of the Leadership Team, said: "ResponsibleSteel™ is critical to our goal of striving for leadership in environmental excellence. We have one of the smallest carbon footprints in the industry and strive to adopt best practices in terms of ethics, governance, community engagement and corporate citizenship. This certification reinforces our commitment to sustainability, since it is part of our mission to offer the market steel solutions produced in a responsible manner."

The ResponsibleSteelTM Standard, which was designed together by business partners and NGOs with the aim of promoting steel as a responsible material of choice, contains 12 principles with more than 200 requirements that set the benchmark for responsible steel production. The audit examined such sustainability topics as:

• Governance and ethics
• Health & Safety and other labour and human rights
• Climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity
• Water stewardship and other environmental impacts
• Stakeholder engagement and local community relations

In accordance with the standard process, Aperam South America received numerous technical visits that led, in many cases, to adjustments and even changes in course. The analysis was completed by more than 60 exchanges with our external stakeholders, including officials, neighbours, associations, subcontractors, employees and unions.

An independent Assurance Panel reviewed the final audit report and agreed with the audit team’s conclusion that Aperam meets the ResponsibleSteel™ criteria.

Mrs Annie Heaton, Chief Executive Officer ResponsibleSteel™, commented: “We’re very proud to have Aperam South America join a growing number of sites globally that have been certified against the ResponsibleSteel™ Standard. It is the second Aperam site to become certified, Aperam Stainless Europe being one of the earliest sites to achieve ResponsibleSteel™ certification back in 2021. This indicates Aperam’s continued determination to show leadership in each region they operate in. With over 4000 workers and contractors, Aperam South America is working to build an inclusive and diverse working environment, one which also aims to give back to the local community. Just one example is the inclusion and diversity plan led by volunteers which the site has put in place to combat discrimination and stereotyping.”

As announced  by Aperam on September 23, 2021 this certification has previously been granted to Stainless Europe operations by the ResponsibleSteel™ organization. With the certification of our Brazilian operations, Aperam becomes the first stainless steel and specialty alloys producer in the world to achieve this distinction on two different continents.

About Aperam

Aperam is a global player in stainless, electrical and specialty steel and recycling, with customers in over 40 countries. Starting from 1 January 2022, the business is organized in four primary reportable segments: Stainless & Electrical Steel, Services & Solutions, Alloys & Specialties and Recycling & Renewables.

Aperam has a flat Stainless and Electrical steel capacity of 2.5 million tonnes in Brazil and Europe and is a leader in high value specialty products. In addition to its industrial network, spread over six production facilities in Brazil, Belgium and France, Aperam has a highly integrated distribution, processing and services network and a unique capability to produce low carbon footprint stainless and special steels from biomass, stainless steel scrap and high performance alloys scrap. With Bioenergia and its unique capability to produce charcoal made from its own FSC®-certified forestry and with ELG, a global leader in collecting, trading, processing and recycling of stainless steel scrap and high performance alloys, Aperam’s places sustainability at the heart of its business, helping customers worldwide to excel in the circular economy.

In 2022, Aperam had sales of EUR 8,156 million and shipments of 2.31 million tonnes.

For further information, please refer to our website at www.aperam.com.

Contact

Company Secretary / Julia Eisenmann +352 661 527 279; julia.eisenmann@aperam.com

Investor Relations / Thorsten Zimmermann: +352 661 570 250; thorsten.zimmermann@aperam.com