At TASA Analytics, we believe better data unlocks better decisions. That conviction guided our recent collaboration and white paper with a major global automaker and Climate TRACE to illuminate one of the most opaque—and critical—areas of corporate emissions reporting: the upstream emissions embedded in steel and aluminum.
For ESG professionals navigating Scope 3 emissions, the challenge is all too familiar. Commodity materials like steel and aluminum are emissions-intensive, deeply embedded in multi-tier supply chains, and often accounted for using simple aggregated spend-based emissions factors, often in practice, little more than the free to use, U.S. EPA EEIO model. While these methods have served as a compliance baseline, they are insufficient for strategic supplier engagement, procurement decisions, or credible decarbonization claims.
That’s where TASA came in.
We developed a suite of hybrid-path rapid IO-LCA (rLCA) models that marry the structural path strength of environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) analysis with facility-level Scope 1 and 2 emissions factors from Climate TRACE. TASA’s models allowed us to create a detailed map of emissions variations across geographies, production methods, feedstock composition, and electricity mixes.
The results were eye-opening.
Facility-level emissions for primary steel production in the U.S. ranged from 0.5 to 3.8 tCO₂eper tonne—over a 7x difference. In aluminum, the choice of smelting location and grid intensity could swing embodied emissions from 5.7 to 18.5 mt CO₂e per tonne of metal produced. When we modeled feedstock composition—such as increasing recycled scrap content from 50% to 90% in Indian EAF steel—we observed up to a 50% emissions reduction.
These insights didn’t just validate the automaker’s low-carbon procurement ambitions—they refined them. More importantly, they created a new opportunity: to engage existing suppliers not just on performance, but on process.
For companies facing increasing pressure from investors, regulators (such as the EU’s CBAM), and internal net-zero mandates, precision truly matters. Generic averages won’t suffice when carbon becomes a cost. Facility-level specificity, especially when paired with supplier collaboration, unlocks new levers for emissions reduction—without sacrificing cost or quality.
At TASA, we don’t just help companies measure their emissions. We help them understand where they come from, why they vary, and how to act on them. Our goal is to move the market beyond static disclosure and into dynamic, data-driven climate action.
TASA-EFX is the world’s most comprehensive emissions factors database with over 9-billion emissions factors and extensions available for in-depth supply chain emissions analysis. The Open Silver National EEIO Models are free for all to use, while the premium Gold, Platinum and rLCA datasets offer the insights you need to meaningfully address hard to abate emissions hotspots.
To the ESG leaders, procurement strategists, and supply chain analysts trying to turn commitment into execution—we hear you. Let’s make Scope 3 actionable.
Visit us at tasaanalytics.com to learn more.
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