2024 Projects - Sustainability.ussteel.com
In the annual Big River Steel Works employee survey, over 400 employees requested that Big River Steel Works plant more trees on the facility property now that construction activities have settled. To satisfy these requests and make the energy on the outside of Big River Steel Works match the innovation and technology of the steelmaking process inside, the entrance gate was given a re fresh. The gate is now a symbol of welcome and a point of pride for employees, reflecting Big River Steel Works’ dedication to sustainability.
Gary Works Machine Shop employees installed proportional valves on the coolant concentrate barrels and plumbed them directly to 13 of the CNC machines, improving efficiency and accuracy. Previously, each operator had to walk across the Machine Shop and fill a gallon bucket of coolant concentrate to mix into their machines manually, resulting in variations in the coolant concentrate mix. Now the coolant is correctly premixed for operators and piped directly to the machines. This process improvement spurred a 20% reduction in coolant concentrate consumption and a 13-hour reduction in labor every week.
In collaboration with SecureShred, Gary Works employees gathered to shred and recycle 1,442 pounds of paper materials, including books, magazines, file folders and hanging file folders. The event was aimed at embracing the “5S” organizing principles — Sort, Set, Shine, Standardize and Sustain — to create cleaner, more organized spaces while offering an eco-friendly outlet for paper waste. Volunteers from around the facility encouraged employees to enhance and declutter both their personal and professional environments by responsibly disposing of unnecessary paper materials in this environmentally responsible way.
Headquarters employees have continued to move away from paper and toward electronic documentation practices since the COVID pandemic. As a result, the demand for traditional office supplies has dropped significantly, leading to an excess of unused office supplies scattered throughout the building. At the end of 2024, more than 70 employees came together on each floor and sorted through all unused or unwanted supplies, including pens, pencils, tablets, file folders, sticky notes, binders, staplers, tape, ink and IT equipment. They also responsibly disposed of privileged documents and material. These efforts resulted in gathering 16 cases of legal paper, 22 hampers of IT equipment, 120 boxes of office supplies and 33 shred bins of paper. While some of the supplies were obsolete and required disposal, much of it was still useful and could be distributed to employees or donated. Among the still-useful supplies were desk chairs and 16 boxes of writing utensils, binder clips and cleaning supplies distributed at Mon Valley Works, 59 boxes of cleaning and office supplies and printer paper distributed at the Research Center, and 45 boxes of school supplies donated to the Education Partnership, which supports under-resourced schools in the region.
Every spring, Mon Valley Works Clairton Plant experiences honeybee swarms gathering in various locations throughout the facility. For years, employees have been coming together, collecting these swarms and distributing them to other employees who practice bee keeping to protect and sustain bee colony life. Honeybees play a crucial role in our ecosystem, significantly contributing to the pollination of many crops and wild plants, and habitat loss is a major factor in the decline of honeybee populations. This project helped alleviate that threat locally, establishing a beekeeping area at the south end of the Clairton Plant property. Funds were allotted to purchase hives, beekeeper hooded jackets, and tools required to establish and maintain a beekeeping program. Clairton personnel have been managing and maintaining these pollinators for many years and are now positioned to do so for many more to come. The project also provides an opportunity to extend Clairton’s community outreach programs through education and environmental stewardship.
Mon Valley Works Irvin Plant is located directly in the migration path for monarch butterflies. Pollinators, especially indicator species like monarch butterflies, support sustainability by pollinating, boosting biodiversity and inspiring conservation efforts, all crucial for ecosystem resilience. Following steep declines of monarchs, scientists have found that the monarch population is dangerously low throughout the U.S. Irvin is doing its part to support this threatened and beloved species, planting a garden consisting of perennial native plants such as milkweed, nectar plants and various bulbs that are all part of the monarch’s preferred diet. The monarch butterfly garden is at the very front of the Irvin mill, serving as a beautification project that gives new life to previously bare garden beds, while making the area more inviting and enjoyable for all employees and visitors.
Supporting Families in All Stages of Life
“I wanted to be Co-chair of SteelPARENTS because working and parenting are two full-time jobs, and all parents will tell you that raising kids takes a village. What better village to lean on than their U. S. Steel family? I was excited to find ways through SteelPARENTS to network, support and educate our membership. Our event on Technology and Social Media’s Impact on Children with Nicole Runyon was particularly impactful to the over 100 attendees in our company, given the ever-growing presence and influence of technology on kids of all ages, even starting from birth.” – Tiffany Demos, SteelPARENTS Co-chair
Supporting Health for Babies and Moms
SteelPARENTS helped lead the 2024 effort for the annual March for Babies campaign, which raises funds for the March of Dimes in support of healthy babies and moms. Along with help from the SteelABILITY and LEAD ERGs, SteelPARENTS coordinated a range of fundraising activities, including gate collections[OH1] [JC2] and email blasts. The efforts brought in nearly $60,000 for the campaign, exceeding U. S. Steel’s already-ambitious fundraising goal by about $10,000.
In addition to the support for the March for Babies campaign, volunteers from SteelPARENTS and other ERGs, along with their families, participated in the March of Dimes annual Pittsburgh walk event in April. U. S. Steel was a Platinum Sponsor of the walk, running a booth where our volunteers handed out cotton candy and sunglasses.
[OH1]@John RONAN Please confirm this is the intended phrase. Not clear to me.
[JC2]Note to USS - should we define this term if intended?