How the Industry Promotes Biodiversity

Nature buffers carbon dioxide and thus helps mitigate global warming. Furthermore, nature-based solutions can contribute to reducing the environmental impact of steel production.

Jernkontoret supports the iron and steel companies in the application and implementation of ecosystem services. This makes it visible, strengthens, and systematizes activities that increase biodiversity.

Noise Barrier Became a popular habitat for Insects

The noise barrier at Savelgärdet, east of SSAB’s operational area in Borlänge, was built to reduce disturbing noise. The barrier is 600 meters long, 39 meters wide at the base, and eight meters high. It serves its purpose but has also proven to be a great place for bees and other pollinating insects, thanks to its various plants that bloom in spring, summer, and fall. Therefore, SSAB in Borlänge, in collaboration with Borlänge Municipality, has decided to turn the noise barrier into an insect hotel. Read more at SSAB:s website (In Swedish).

Insect Hotels Made from Old Dead Trees

It wasn’t long ago that old trees were seen as worthless unless they could be converted into energy and heat. At Alleima in Sandviken, the value of old trees and dead wood has been recognized. The company has placed trunks of birch, maple, and elm with drilled holes in suitable locations around the operational area. The dead wood creates good living spaces for insects, including wasps and beetles, but also other species like lichens and wood fungi.

Saved trunks from deciduous trees at Alleima's operational area in Sandviken provide living space for insects, lichens, and wood fungi. By drilling holes in the trunks, a so-called "insect hotel" is created.
Photo: Alleima.

Closed Landfills that Bloom

The Lotsängen landfill in Oxelösund is SSAB’s oldest landfill. Landfills store various types of waste from operations. Before the final covering, when the landfill returns to being part of nature, it was decided to leave the area without further maintenance. As a result, the area now has plenty of nesting birds, flowers, and butterflies, including ragwort and the amarilla butterfly.

Another example of a flourishing landfill is the old landfill of the metal powder manufacturer Höganäs where red-listed species nest. The landfill was closed in 2005, and in consultation with the municipality’s ecologist and other authorities, Höganäs created a wetland. Read more at Höganäs webpage (In Swedish)

Ragwort (the yellow flowers in the picture), the admiral butterfly, and other insects and plants thrive and flourish at SSAB’s closed landfill.
Photo: SSAB

Pike Factory from Reclaimed Wetland

Water is an important ecosystem service for SSAB, as clean water is required in all production processes. Therefore, the company has chosen to co-finance the construction of the pike factory Långsjön in Södermanland, a project led by the Swedish Angling and Fisheries Conservation Association, Sport Fishers. The overgrown and drained wetland has been restored and has emerged as an important, thriving place for both birds and fish. The pike factory promotes biodiversity and helps reduce eutrophication along the Baltic Sea coast.

See the film about the pike factory: 

Biodiversity on the Railway Area – Just Vegetation?

SSAB conducted a test with a foam product, consisting of hot water with coconut and corn sugar, to evaluate whether it could be an alternative to vegetation control on the railway embankment. The test was evaluated and compared with the current method, which is mechanical treatment using a mowing unit. The decision was made to only use mechanical treatment on the embankment area where brush poses a workplace safety issue, since the test with the foam product was successful and could therefore be used elsewhere.