Comment: Certification is key to ensuring that steel doesn’t cost the Earth | Reuters

Oct 23, 2024

Annie Heaton is CEO of ResponsibleSteel. She has dedicated over three decades to working in sustainability and corporate responsibility, with a particular focus on climate strategy, finance, reporting and social impact. She has led ResponsibleSteel since joining as CEO in 2022, overseeing ResponsibleSteel’s standards and certification programme as well as partnerships on initiatives including SteelZero, the Near Zero Steel 2030 Challenge, the Steel Standards Principles, and the Steel Breakthrough Agenda. Prior to this she spent nine years shaping ArcelorMittal’s sustainability agenda, leading on stakeholder engagement, reporting, and investor relations. She also worked with global renewable energy firm RES Group in their zero emissions head office, establishing their environmental education programme and initiating their sustainability programme as the company developed large- and small-scale wind, solar and biomass projects.

Helen Clarkson, OBE, is CEO of the Climate Group. She is an experienced leader on international climate and humanitarian issues, with over 20 years of experience in government and corporate engagement. Under her leadership, Climate Group has created coalitions of over 500 ambitious companies through initiatives such as RE100, EV100, ConcreteZero, and SteelZero, which are crucial in sending demand signals to markets and policy-makers to drive the energy transition, as well as building the Under2 Coalition of state and regional governments, and Climate Week NYC, a major event in the international climate agenda. Helen was awarded an OBE in 2022 for services to the climate and was included in The Independent's Climate 100 List 2024.