Corporate responsibility report 2005 - Tata Steel

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Sustainable solutions Automotive Our products help our customers build safer, fuel efficient and more environmentally friendly cars. In the global automotive industry, we are using our technology leadership to help address key environmental challenges such as cost-effective lightweighting for reduced CO 2 emissions, passenger/pedestrian safety and the EU End of Life Vehicles Directive (ELVD). We are also collaborating with our customers at the implementation level, to improve environmental performance with a longer term, sustainable, approach. Investing in advanced high strength steel technology In November 2005, we announced the investment of £153m (EUR223m) at Corus Strip Products, IJmuiden, to further expand and enhance the Group’s product range and capabilities including the development of advanced high strength steels for use in lightweight automotive applications. Stronger, safer, affordable By combining engineering and materials science know-how with manufacturing innovations, we are helping the automotive industry build cars that are not only safer for drivers, passengers and pedestrians, but which are also more affordable, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly. One example is a new technique that has been developed by our automotive engineers in conjunction with Corus RD&T, to optimise the crash behaviour of cars built from Corus’ advanced high strength steels. Our ‘Forming to Crash’ technique pre-calculates the additional strength induced into body panels during metal-forming operations and then feeds the new, stronger behaviour of the formed metal part back into a car’s design to assess its influence on crash performance. As well as improving performance of the finished car, this approach is helping car makers to minimise the structural weight and cost of their products. Another example is the ELVD recycling requirements that come into force in January 2007. We have been working closely with car makers, putting the case for using more of the world’s most recyclable engineering material – steel – to help them meet their ELVD challenge. Recyclability When it comes to car components, sustainability involves finding more cost-effective ways to use recyclable metals rather than plastics. A recent vehicle engineering study by Corus on designs for a clutch pedal in aluminium, plastic and steel demonstrates that recyclability does not have to have an adverse effect on cost or performance (see table on opposite page). Car makers will increasingly need this type of support from materials suppliers as the ELVD legislation bites and designers strive to meet 95% recyclability and takeback requirements in 2015. Where aluminium is the preferred material, Corus Aluminium Rolled Products at Duffel, Belgium, has developed new materials such as Ecolite. As well as being strong and lightweight, Ecolite uses the same alloy as other panels on a car – enabling it to be recycled more effectively and efficiently. 8 Corus Corporate Responsibility Report 2005
Sustainable solutions Clutch pedal design – inter-material comparison Design Advantages Disadvantages Aluminium alloy casting Recyclable, low weight, robust, High cost. good for complex shapes. Plastic injection moulding Low weight, good for Poor recyclability, high cost, low complex shapes. stiffness, not robust. Steel fabrication Recyclable, low cost, High weight. strong, robust. Steel pressing Recyclable, low cost, Not suited to complex shapes. low weight, strong, robust. Improving passenger and pedestrian safety A further example of how we are helping automotive sustainability is in the field of hydroforming. When Metalbages (an automotive component manufacturer in Pamplona, Spain) asked for simpler crash load-bearing parts, we suggested making them from a Corus hydroformed tubular blank. Instead of the conventional fabrication of such components from 18 pieces, the Metalbages part will be made from Corus material formed to final shape in a single part, and then cut in two. This not only saves on manufacturing and labour costs, but also reduces both energy consumption and manufacturing waste. We have also developed products that will help the highways infrastructure industry meet new EN1317 European legislation to improve containment and protection of car occupants in the event of a crash, including roadside and bridge parapet safety barriers. Ending a sticky problem Corus Colors, Firsteel, in Walsall, West Midlands, has developed a unique hexavalent chromium-free adhesivecoated metal, Envirobond. This can replace hexavalent chromium-based adhesives in a wide range of automotive applications, enabling car makers both to avoid using this harmful material and to meet the requirements of the ELVD. Envirobond will offer an alternative to manufacturers of components that require pre-applied reactivatable adhesives, such as weather strips used in, for example, door linings, sunroofs, bonnets, boots and interior trim. Components for greener engines The increasingly stringent demands of Euro 4 and Euro 5 emissions regulations can only be met with the latest high pressure diesel injection systems. The extreme pressures and temperatures developed within these systems (2000 bar and 350°C respectively) put pipe, pump and injector components under huge stress. In response, Corus Engineering Steels has developed specialist alloys for use in these latest generation systems – steels that have the exceptional cleanness needed for accurate machinability, whilst also giving them great inherent strength and durability. Greener materials for component makers Transmission system manufacturers want to improve process efficiency and remove unnecessary processing. Corus Engineering Steels is helping by developing new grades of steel that enable carburising to be carried out at higher temperatures and under a low pressure atmosphere. This innovation reduces the total amount of gas used in the carburising process, and consequently reduces CO 2 emissions. Corus Corporate Responsibility Report 2005 9
Page 1 and 2: 2005 Corporate responsibility repor
Page 3 and 4: Our performance in summary What hav
Page 5 and 6: How do we manage corporate responsi
Page 7 and 8: What does sustainable development m
Page 9: Sustainable solutions Sustainabilit
Page 13 and 14: Sustainable solutions Consumer prod
Page 15 and 16: People Health and safety Policy sta
Page 17 and 18: How do we care for our people? Case
Page 19 and 20: How do we care for our people? Peop
Page 21 and 22: How do we care for our people? Fema
Page 23 and 24: Environment Policy statement We are
Page 25 and 26: How do we protect the environment?
Page 33 and 34: Communities We recognise that our o
Page 35 and 36: How do we support our communities?
Page 37 and 38: Business ethics A framework for bus
Page 39 and 40: How do we safeguard our business? T
Page 41 and 42: Status Comments Forward action Achi
Page 43 and 44: Validation statement Enviros has co
Page 45: www.corusgroup.com Care has been ta

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