[Regulatory Update] ESPR Reshapes the Competitive Rules of the Materials Industry: The Debate Over the EU's Green Steel Definition Signals an Era of "Visualising Environmental Performance"

The ESPR was originally a regulation focused on "product design", but the debate over the Green Steel definition shows that its reach is steadily expanding into the materials industry itself. 【The Flow of Industrial Structural Change】 ESPR (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation) ↓ Expansion of environmental information requirements for products (such as the DPP) ↓ Environmental performance data requirements extend to the materials that make up products ↓ Shift in the steel industry's competitive axis: from quality and cost to environmental performance, circularity and traceability ↓ Formation of a green steel market 【Key Points】 ・The Green Steel Label has not been "formally introduced" — this is still at the stage of debate over the definition and methodology within the ESPR's draft delegated act ・Recycling Europe and others support the JRC methodology while calling for a higher emissions threshold ・They oppose a sliding-scale (relative) approach and argue for a fixed-threshold (absolute) approach ・Their position is that the circularity potential of recycled steel scrap should be properly recognised 【Ripple Effects Across Industry】 ・Steel manufacturers: low-carbon steelmaking technology and recycled-material management become directly linked to competitiveness ・Automotive manufacturers: the environmental performance of materials such as steel and aluminium also becomes subject to assessment in a vehicle's environmental evaluation ・Manufacturing more broadly: an era in which procurement shifts from "cheap materials" to "materials whose environmental credentials can be proven" The EU is moving into an era in which the environmental performance of materials themselves shapes corporate competitiveness. This trend is linked to the CBAM (the carbon cost of materials), the Circular Economy Act (circularity requirements) and the DPP (traceability through the Digital Product Passport), and it demands a fundamental review of procurement strategy for manufacturers operating in the European market.