Aperam's Stainless Europe successfully certified to be operating at ResponsibleSteel(TM) Standard by independent auditors

Luxembourg -  September 23, 2021 (15:00 CET) - Aperam announces today that its Stainless Europe operations have been successfully certified to be operating at the ResponsibleSteel(TM) Standard by the independent auditors AFNOR. The ResponsibleSteel(TM) initiative is the first global sustainability certification programme for the steel sector and its certification follows a stringent audit of the company's practices.

Mr. Timoteo Di Maulo, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Leadership Team, said: "Aperam becoming the first stainless steel player to be certified under the ResponsibleSteel(TM) Standard is reassurance to our stakeholders that we produce responsibly. With Aperam, our customers have selected a partner of choice, offering them responsibly produced solutions that are also 100% recyclable and low carbon - solutions that are much needed for the sustainable society we strive to live in. At Aperam, we are convinced that true business success can only come together with social and environmental sustainability and we will pursue our strategy to further embed sustainability within all our processes. Aperam is proud to be the frontrunner of its industry in the field of Corporate Responsibility and we are delighted that all our teams' efforts on sustainability and responsibility, already evidenced by our state-of-the-art CO2 footprint, are now fully recognized with an all-encompassing third-party certification of our processes at Stainless Europe."

The ResponsibleSteelTM Standard, which was designed together by business partners and NGOs with the aim of promoting steel as a responsible material of choice, contains 12 principles with more than 200 requirements that set the benchmark for responsible steel production. The audit of Aperam's facilities, which took place in June and included Aperam's Châtelet, Genk, Gueugnon, Isbergues and Saint-Denis sites in Belgium and France, examined such sustainability topics as:

• Governance and ethics
• Health & Safety and other labour and human rights
• Climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity
• Water stewardship and other environmental impacts
• Stakeholder engagement and local community relations

In accordance with the standard process, Aperam's sites were screened based on written documentation, and underwent on-site audits by third-party auditors from AFNOR Certification. The analysis was completed by more than 40 exchanges with our external stakeholders, including officials, neighbours, associations, subcontractors, employees and unions.

An independent Assurance Panel reviewed the final audit report and agreed with the audit team's conclusion that Aperam meets the ResponsibleSteel(TM) criteria.

Mrs Anne-Claire Howard, Chief Executive Officer ResponsibleSteel(TM), said: "I am delighted that Aperam, a ResponsibleSteel(TM)  Member since 2019, is the first stainless steelmaker to be awarded our certification for their European Stainless Steel operations. The ResponsibleSteel(TM) Standard, created by the steel sector's only truly global multi-stakeholder initiative, contains a very exacting set of ESG criteria which we hope gives business and consumers confidence that the site at which the steel is being produced is operated responsibly. I would like to congratulate the teams at Aperam who supported the development of the ResponsibleSteel(TM)  Standard and are now able to see it implemented at five sites in France and Belgium. We look forward to continuing to work together on the next phase of our journey - Certified Steel."

About Aperam

Aperam is a global player in stainless, electrical and specialty steel, with customers in over 40 countries. The business is organised in three primary operating segments: Stainless & Electrical Steel, Services & Solutions and Alloys & Specialties.

Aperam has a flat Stainless and Electrical steel capacity of 2.5 million tonnes in Brazil and Europe and is a leader in high value specialty products. In addition to its industrial network, spread over six production facilities in Brazil, Belgium and France, Aperam has a highly integrated distribution, processing and services network and a unique capability to produce stainless and special steels from low cost biomass (charcoal made from its own FSC-certified forestry).

In 2020, Aperam had sales of EUR 3,624 million and steel shipments of 1.68 million tonnes.

For further information, please refer to our website at www.aperam.com

Contact

Corporate Communications /  Laurent Beauloye: +352 27 36 27 103

Investor Relations / Thorsten Zimmermann:  +352 27 36 67 304