Meta, Stegra Sign Green Steel Certificates Deal for Data Centre Emissions

Meta has signed a multi-year agreement with Swedish steel producer Stegra to purchase environmental attribute certificates (EACs) linked to low-carbon steel production at Stegra's plant in Boden, northern Sweden. The agreement will support Meta's efforts to address embodied carbon emissions associated with data center construction while helping finance the expansion of green steel manufacturing. The plant, currently under construction, will use green hydrogen and renewable electricity to produce steel with up to 95% lower CO2 emissions than conventional blast furnace-based production, according to Stegra. Financial terms and certificate volumes were not disclosed.

 

The agreement uses a book-and-claim system that allows companies to purchase the environmental attributes of low-carbon steel without taking physical delivery of the material. Under this arrangement, the steel is sold separately from its environmental attributes, which are transferred to the certificate buyer. The purchaser of the physical steel cannot claim the associated emissions benefits, helping prevent double counting. Stegra says an accredited third party will verify the certificates to support credible emissions accounting.

 

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Stegra will apply the certificate system to non-prime steel produced at its facility. Non-prime steel is generated during normal steelmaking operations, particularly when new production facilities are being commissioned, and output quality is still being optimized. Although this material may not meet all commercial product specifications, it is manufactured using the same hydrogen-based process as Stegra's other steel products. The EAC arrangement allows the environmental value of this production to be sold independently, creating an additional revenue opportunity during the plant's early operating years.

 

Devon Lake, Head of Net Zero Strategy at Meta, said, “The market for green steel is still in its early stages, and physical supply has not caught up with demand. Environmental attribute certificates let us act on those emissions now, with third-party verification, and direct demand toward production that is still coming online. That is how the market for green steel gets built.”

 

Meta is also participating in RMI's Sustainable Steel Buyers Platform, which brings together companies seeking to accelerate demand for lower-emission steel. Luisa Orre, Chief Business Development Officer at Stegra, highlighted Meta's role in supporting emerging industrial decarbonization technologies through certificate purchases. The agreement gives Stegra a commercial commitment as it develops production capacity, while allowing Meta to support lower-carbon material manufacturing even where direct procurement is difficult. The actual emissions benefits will depend on verified steel production, certificate delivery and applicable greenhouse gas accounting requirements.

 

Source: Stegra