Google agrees to buy environmental attribute certificates for up to 91,000 t of Boden steel in year one

Stegra/Boden green steel plant

Google agreed to buy environmental attribute certificates covering up to 91,000 tonnes of steel from Stegra's Boden plant in its first year, to offset steel emissions from its operations such as data-centre construction. Under this book-and-claim model the low-emission claim is sold separately from the physical steel, so Google can pay for green steel without taking delivery of it. The deal gives Stegra revenue while its new plant ramps up.

• To avoid double-counting, Stegra sells the matching physical steel as ordinary product with no green claim, and its buyers commit not to make sustainability claims about it.
• The certificates cover up to 91,000 t in year one; both sides say they hope to widen the scope over time.
• Boden is operating and producing steel; the agreement is meant to support its first years of production.
• Caveat: certificates do not lower emissions at the building sites themselves; they fund cleaner production elsewhere, and near-zero-emission steel is still scarce.