Nippon Steel and JFE Lag Behind Globally in Decarbonization: International NGO Releases Corporate Ranking

(March 31, 2026, Tokyo) According to the inaugural "Steel Company Scorecard"[1] released today by the international climate NGO SteelWatch, none of the 18 steel manufacturers assessed are adequately prepared for the transition to decarbonization, with Japanese companies notably lagging behind. This survey is based on publicly available corporate data through fiscal year 2024.

Japan's largest steelmaker, Nippon Steel, ranked 17th out of 18 companies (16.8 points out of 100), while JFE Steel ranked 12th (23.4 points), both remaining in the lower tier. While all assessed steelmakers scored below 50 points, Nippon Steel and JFE Steel scored lower than their global peers, a trend driven by their reliance on coal.

The primary reason Nippon Steel was evaluated as being in the bottom group is its focus on life-extension technologies for high-emission coal blast furnaces rather than their phased decommissioning. Its coal consumption is on an upward trend. In contrast, some companies included in the scorecard have announced clear plans to phase out coal usage.

According to the overall assessment, despite most companies publishing net-zero targets, they continue to rely on coal, which entails high emissions, and the expansion of low-emission technologies is progressing slowly. Each company faces a serious "transition readiness gap"—the discrepancy between the level required for a steelmaker's transition and the company's current efforts.

"We hope that influential steelmakers like Nippon Steel and JFE Steel will use the results of this scorecard to accelerate their efforts toward fundamental structural reform," said Roger Smith, Asia Lead at SteelWatch.

Full report and link to webpage: https://steelwatch.org/scorecard?lang=ja

Materials such as photos, charts, and corporate score information can be downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Rl_cJBIfPSe1Xr6rJXY_teq6I-YzCmpZ

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1. The overall score (out of 100) is evaluated across five categories, including "Climate Action Performance," "Target Setting and Transparency," and "Social and Environmental Impact." The average score for "Transitioning Away from Coal" was only 10.5 points (out of 25), with all but four companies having recently invested in or planning investments in coal blast furnaces. The average score for "Scaling Up Low-Emission Steel Production" was even lower, at just 0.6 points (out of 25).

2. Key findings of this scorecard are as follows:
- At present, there is no steelmaker among those assessed that is on a sufficient trajectory toward a near-zero emissions transition. While the majority of companies have long-term net-zero targets, they are not prepared to put their climate change measures into action, and their efforts fall far short of the speed and scale required to curb climate change.
- Many of the assessed companies continue to invest in coal blast furnaces; reliance on coal and a lack of expansion in green iron (low-emission iron sources) are common factors hindering the transition. The average score for green iron expansion and renewable energy was less than 1 point out of 25.
- Hyundai Steel (South Korea), Nippon Steel, and HBIS (China) were evaluated as being in the bottom group, with overall scores of 21.2, 16.8, and 8.3 out of 100, respectively. These companies were seen as missing opportunities to close the transition readiness gap due to their high dependence on coal-based blast furnace production, a lack of progress and reporting on renewable energy, and a lack of concrete efforts toward green iron development during the reporting period.
- While far from the required transition, SSAB (Sweden) ranked 1st (46.2 points out of 100) and Thyssenkrupp (Germany) ranked 2nd (41.9 points). These two companies are slightly ahead of others because they have not engaged in the reinvestment or relining of coal blast furnaces seen in other assessed companies and have concrete plans for blast furnace decommissioning and green iron. However, both companies still need to proceed with the introduction and scaling of green iron.
- Amidst this concerning situation, there are slight signs of progress. For example, almost no assessed companies are currently building new blast furnaces. SSAB has a good track record in introducing renewable energy. Additionally, some companies possess a certain scale of direct reduced iron (DR iron) production capacity, which is expected to lead to opportunities for producing near-zero emission steel in the future. Progress must not end with announcements but must be accompanied by concrete actions, and such progress will be strictly verified. Some assessed companies have announced new projects that have not yet reached a final investment decision or were announced after the evaluation period and thus were not included in the assessment; these are expected to be reflected in future scorecards based on each company's progress.

3. The "SteelWatch Steel Company Scorecard" evaluates 18 companies (operating in 29 countries): SSAB (Sweden), Thyssenkrupp (Germany), ArcelorMittal (Luxembourg), Ternium (Luxembourg), JSW Steel (India), Cleveland-Cliffs (USA), NLMK Group (Russia), US Steel (USA), Gerdau (Brazil), Tata Steel (India), Baosteel (China), JFE Steel, Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK, Russia), OYAK (Turkey), POSCO (South Korea), Hyundai Steel (South Korea), Nippon Steel, and HBIS (China) (listed in order of overall ranking). This evaluation is based primarily on data from corporate reports published in fiscal year 2025 covering fiscal year 2024, and is scheduled to be revised annually.

4. For those who wish to learn more details about each steelmaker, you can view their progress regarding the transition to decarbonization via the "Steel Company Transition Tracker" below: https://steelwatch.org/tracker/?lang=ja