CO2 emission reduction within Chinese iron & steel industry: practices, determinants and performance

Due to increasing energy scarcity and pressures from climate change, Chinese iron & steel (IS) companies have struggled to implement practices to reduce their energy consumption and CO2 emissions. However, it is not clear whether these practices can improve the environmental or economic performance of these companies. The determinants that drive or hinder the implementation of these practices are also not known. Therefore, this paper describes an empirical analysis of a total of 85 questionnaires of various IS companies across China. A regression analysis was applied in this paper to verify the relationship among CO2 reduction practices, determinants and performance as reported by the IS companies. The results show that although some CO2 reduction practices can result in significant environmental performance, their impacts on the improvement of economic performance are less clear. The paper discusses some implications regarding strategies for prompting CO2 reduction practices that have been considered during the discussion about the determinants that impact on the practices.

► We explored the practices of CO2 emission reduction within Chinese iron & steel industry.
► We identify the determinants for iron & steel manufacturers to implement CO2 reduction practices.
► The relationship among CO2 reduction practices, determinants and performance are analyzed.
► Some CO2 reduction practices can bring significant environmental performance.
► Majority of CO2 reduction practices' impacts on the improvement of economic performance are less clearly.