blogs, Policy & Sustainability

Something fundamental shifted in India’s steel industry in December 2024 – and its effects are now reaching every procurement desk, every project specification, and every sustainability report in the construction sector.

On 12 December 2024, India became the first country in the world to launch a formal Green Steel Taxonomy – a government-issued framework that defines what constitutes green steel, rates it on a five-star scale based on carbon emission intensity, and establishes a mandatory verification and certification system administered by the National Institute of Secondary Steel Technology (NISST). The Green Steel Public Procurement Policy (GSPPP), expected to kick in from FY2027-28, will require government projects to use minimum specified quantities of certified green steel.

Simultaneously, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) entered its financial phase on 1 January 2026. For every tonne of steel exported to Europe from a high-emissions production facility, Indian manufacturers now face a carbon cost that will compound as CBAM tightens through 2034.

And at the product certification level, GreenPro – India’s CII-administered eco-label – is evolving its standards to align with these new regulatory and market realities. With over 1,000 GreenPro-certified products in India as of 2024, and construction-sector demand accelerating under green building mandates and EPR compliance requirements, the pressure on manufacturers to not just hold a GreenPro certificate but to continuously improve against its benchmarks has never been greater.

This is what GreenPro 2.0 means in practice. Not a rebranded certification – but the next chapter in what eco-efficiency actually demands from India’s steel industry in 2026.

1. The Policy Landscape That Is Rewriting the Rules

To understand what eco-efficiency now means for India’s steel sector, you need to understand three converging policy forces that are reshaping the market simultaneously.

India’s Green Steel Taxonomy  ·  December 12, 2024  ·  World’s first national green steel classification framework

Launched by Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, the Green Steel Taxonomy establishes the first scientifically grounded definition of green steel in India – and the world. Here is how the rating system works:

• ★★★★★  Five-Star:  Emission intensity below 1.6 t-CO₂e per tonne of finished steel:
• ★★★★    Four-Star:  Emission intensity between 1.6 and 2.0 t-CO₂e/tfs:
• ★★★      Three-Star:  Emission intensity between 2.0 and 2.2 t-CO₂e/tfs:

Steel with emission intensity above 2.2 t-CO₂e/tfs does not qualify as green steel. This is significant: India’s current national average emission intensity is approximately 2.54 t-CO₂e/tfs – above the taxonomy threshold. The industry’s target is to reduce this to 2.20 t-CO₂e/tfs by 2029-30.

The NISST will serve as the nodal agency for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV), issuing annual greenness certificates and star ratings. Certificates are issued per financial year, with provisions for mid-year updates if MRV data changes.

Green Steel Public Procurement Policy (GSPPP)  ·  Implementation from FY2027-28  ·  Mandatory green steel in government projects

The proposed Green Steel Public Procurement Policy will require minimum quantities of certified green steel on government infrastructure projects – creating the first large-scale, government-backed demand signal for low-carbon structural steel in India.

A CII-Climate Catalyst report released in February 2026 quantified the potential: mandating 26% certified green steel usage in public projects valued above ₹1 crore could unlock 16 million metric tonnes of annual demand by FY2029-30. A more ambitious 37% mandate would expand this to 24 million MT, avoiding up to 29.7 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions – equivalent to removing 6 to 9 million cars from Indian roads each year.

The proposed National Mission on Green Steel carries a budget of ₹15,000 crore to support decarbonisation technology adoption across the sector, including EAF expansion, green hydrogen DRI pathways, and carbon capture deployment.

EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)  ·  Financial phase from January 1, 2026  ·  Carbon costs on Indian steel exports to Europe

The EU CBAM entered its definitive financial phase on 1 January 2026. For Indian steel exporters, this is not a future risk – it is a present-tense operating cost. The EU accounts for approximately 25% of Indian steel exports. Every tonne of steel shipped to Europe from a facility with emission intensity above EU benchmarks now carries an implicit carbon levy.

Rystad Energy’s research projects that without rapid decarbonisation, Indian steelmakers could face carbon costs of up to USD 116 per tonne by 2034, assuming a carbon price of USD 100 per tonne. By contrast, steel produced via low-carbon EAF routes or certified under India’s Green Steel Taxonomy faces significantly lower exposure. India’s Secretary of Steel Sandeep Poundrik acknowledged directly that adoption of the Green Steel Taxonomy is ‘not an option – it is a mandate’.

The combined effect of the Green Steel Taxonomy, the GSPPP, and CBAM is unambiguous: by 2028, the ability to demonstrate certified, measurable, audited green steel credentials will determine access to government contracts, EU export markets, and ESG-linked financing – for every major steel manufacturer in India.

2. GreenPro in the New Landscape: What Eco-Efficiency Now Demands

Against this policy backdrop, what does GreenPro certification represent in 2026? And how is it evolving to meet the demands of a market where ‘sustainable steel’ must be auditable, comparable, and continuously improving?

GreenPro – developed by CII’s Green Business Centre and accredited by the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) through GENICES – is a Type-1 Ecolabel based on ISO 14024 standards. That accreditation is consequential: it means GreenPro operates at the same international standard level as the EU Ecolabel, Nordic Swan, and Japan’s Eco Mark. Products certified under GreenPro have internationally recognised green credentials – not just a domestic badge.

What Has Always Made GreenPro Rigorous

GreenPro’s foundational strength has always been its lifecycle orientation. Unlike certifications that measure a single-point metric (energy use, or recycled content, or emissions only), GreenPro evaluates a product’s environmental performance across five dimensions:

• Raw material sourcing and recycled content transparency
• Manufacturing energy intensity (GJ per tonne) and emission control systems
• Rolling, processing, and finishing efficiency – including water recycling and yield rates
• Transportation and logistics carbon footprint
• End-of-life recyclability and circular economy performance

Crucially, GreenPro is an independent, audited certification – not a self-declaration. CII-empanelled third-party auditors verify all submitted data. Annual renewal is mandatory: certification expires and must be renewed with updated performance data. This means a GreenPro certificate is not a one-time achievement. It is an ongoing commitment to demonstrable, year-on-year environmental performance.

What GreenPro 2.0 Adds in 2026

The 2026 iteration of GreenPro standards introduces several operational and verification upgrades that align the certification with India’s Green Steel Taxonomy and international reporting requirements:

• Alignment with NISST MRV: GreenPro-certified manufacturers are now positioned to cross-reference their LCA data with NISST’s measurement and verification framework. Products with GreenPro certification already have the documentation infrastructure to pursue Green Steel Taxonomy star ratings – the two systems are complementary, not competitive.
• Circularity as a prerequisite: Updated GreenPro standards treat end-of-life recyclability and recycled content verification as foundational requirements – not bonus criteria. Minimum thresholds for scrap steel input must be documented through chain-of-custody records from certified recycling facilities.
• Material passport readiness: GreenPro-certified manufacturers are encouraged to develop digital records tracking steel chemistry, recycled content, carbon footprint, and production history – enabling the traceability that CBAM compliance and green procurement mandates will increasingly demand.
• EPD compatibility: GreenPro LCA data now qualifies as product-level environmental disclosure equivalent to Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for LEED Materials and Resources credits – strengthening its value as a green building certification tool.
• Expanded scope: CII GreenPro has extended certification across new construction product categories – solar PV modules, water-efficient plumbing fixtures, and facility management services – demonstrating the ecolabel’s evolution from a material-focused badge to a comprehensive built environment sustainability framework.

3. The Carbon Numbers: Where India’s Steel Industry Stands Today

Understanding the eco-efficiency gap – and the opportunity – requires looking at the actual carbon performance numbers of India’s steel industry.

Current Emission Intensity Reality

• India’s national average: 2.54 t-CO₂e per tonne of finished steel – significantly above the global average of 1.91 t-CO₂e/tfs (Mercom India, December 2024)
• Green Steel Taxonomy eligibility threshold: <2.2 t-CO₂e/tfs (Three-star and above)
• GreenPro benchmark: ≤2.0 t-CO₂e/tfs – equivalent to a Four-Star Green Steel Taxonomy rating
• Five-Star threshold: <1.6 t-CO₂e/tfs – achievable through EAF with high renewable energy input or green hydrogen DRI routes
• EAF with renewable energy: 0.4–0.8 t-CO₂e/tfs – the most carbon-efficient commercially available route today

The Production Route Gap

The dominant production route in India – Blast Furnace/Basic Oxygen Furnace (BF-BOF) – accounts for approximately 46% of 2025 output and carries the highest emission intensity. The EAF route, which uses primarily recycled scrap and electricity, generates 60–75% lower emissions when powered by renewable energy, and is the route most naturally aligned with achieving Green Steel Taxonomy star ratings and GreenPro’s LCA benchmarks.

India’s National Mission on Green Steel targets reducing emission intensity from 2.65 to 2.20 t-CO₂e/tfs by 2029-30. The mechanisms to get there include: increasing EAF capacity share, integrating green hydrogen into Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) production, deploying renewable energy across plant operations, improving scrap collection and recycling rates, and implementing carbon capture at large integrated facilities.

For TMT rebar manufacturers – who predominantly use EAF or induction furnace routes rather than integrated BF-BOF plants – this is a relative advantage. The scrap-intensive nature of secondary steel production means that GreenPro-certified TMT rebar manufacturers are already operating closer to the Green Steel Taxonomy’s eligibility thresholds than large integrated producers.

Why Recycled Content Rates Become a Competitive Moat

Recycling steel uses approximately 75% less energy than producing steel from virgin iron ore, and generates proportionally lower CO₂ emissions. For TMT rebar manufacturers using EAF and induction furnace production with high recycled scrap inputs:

• Each tonne of recycled steel displaces approximately 1.5 tonnes of CO₂e relative to virgin production
• High recycled content directly reduces emission intensity – moving production toward Green Steel Taxonomy star rating eligibility
• Chain-of-custody documentation for scrap inputs becomes both a GreenPro certification requirement and a CBAM compliance asset
• GreenPro certification’s verified recycled content percentage provides the documented evidence that LEED, IGBC, and GRIHA project teams require for materials credits

India’s Green Building Materials market – of which sustainable structural steel is the largest single product category at ~40% market share – is projected to grow from USD 15.5 billion in 2025 to USD 32.2 billion by 2032. Manufacturers who demonstrate verified, audited eco-efficiency credentials will capture disproportionate share of this growth.

4. What GreenPro Certification Means for Buyers in 2026

For construction professionals – developers, EPC contractors, procurement managers – the evolution of GreenPro in the context of India’s new green steel regulatory landscape has direct, practical implications for how you specify and procure structural steel.

Green Building Certification: More Credits, More Directly

GreenPro’s alignment with LEED, IGBC, and GRIHA has strengthened. The LCA data produced through GreenPro certification now maps directly to EPD-equivalent product disclosures required for LEED’s Materials and Resources credits. For IGBC projects – where GreenPro certification is auto-recognised under sustainable materials criteria – this provides the most streamlined path to materials-related green building points in the Indian market.

For GRIHA projects, which the Indian government mandates for all new central government buildings, GreenPro-certified materials contribute to sustainability criteria and innovation points. With GRIHA certifications now covering over 3,869 registered projects across 86.4 million square metres of green building footprint, the reach of GreenPro-aligned procurement is substantial and growing.

Government Procurement: Being Ready for FY2027-28

The Green Steel Public Procurement Policy is expected to require minimum certified green steel content in government projects from FY2027-28. The CII recommendation is phased implementation: policy announcement in 2026-27, integration into procurement guidelines, pilot projects, and fiscal support in the first three years.

For contractors who regularly bid on government infrastructure projects – highways, bridges, metro systems, PMAY housing – being able to demonstrate GreenPro-certified or NISST-rated green steel procurement from FY2027-28 will become a qualification requirement, not a differentiator. Contractors who establish certified supply chains now will be qualification-ready by default when the mandate activates.

ESG Financing and Reporting

SEBI’s sustainability reporting requirements for listed companies, RBI’s green bond pilots, and institutional investor ESG diligence are all creating demand for verifiable, third-party-certified environmental performance data across supply chains. GreenPro certification’s annual audit cycle and public CII registry listing provide exactly the kind of independently verified, publicly accessible environmental documentation that ESG reporting frameworks require.

For developers and EPC contractors seeking green financing – green bonds, sustainability-linked loans, or concessional financing from development finance institutions – the ability to demonstrate certified green material procurement strengthens the project’s environmental credentials and can directly influence financing terms.

CBAM: Getting Export-Ready

For Indian construction material manufacturers with export ambitions – or for EPC contractors building for multinational clients whose EU-headquartered parent companies face CBAM-linked carbon reporting obligations – GreenPro’s LCA data provides the carbon footprint documentation that CBAM compliance requires. CBAM demands verifiable embedded carbon data for every tonne of steel imported into the EU. GreenPro’s LCA framework produces precisely this data, in a format verifiable by third-party auditors.

5. The Practical 2026 Action Plan for Construction Professionals

Across Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, and the Northeast – where Shyam Steel’s supply network operates and where India’s infrastructure pipeline is most active – here is the practical action plan for construction professionals navigating the new green steel landscape:

• Audit your current rebar supply chain for GreenPro coverage: Check whether your current suppliers hold active GreenPro certification (verify cert numbers against CII’s public registry at ciigreenpro.com). Expired certificates are not compliant – GreenPro requires annual renewal, and outdated certs will fail both IGBC audits and future GSPPP compliance checks.
• Request emission intensity data alongside Mill Test Certificates: Ask suppliers to provide their production facility’s emission intensity (t-CO₂e/tfs) and its position relative to the Green Steel Taxonomy thresholds. This establishes your supply chain’s baseline for green procurement reporting.
• Map GreenPro documentation to your green building credit requirements: For projects targeting IGBC, LEED, or GRIHA certification, work with your green building consultant to identify exactly which GreenPro data points (recycled content percentage, LCA summary, regional manufacturing declaration) map to which credit categories.
• Prepare for C&D Waste Management Rules compliance (effective April 2026): Projects ≥20,000 sq.m. must register on CPCB’s portal and submit waste management plans. GreenPro chain-of-custody records for your steel supply directly support the material traceability these rules require.
• Position for GSPPP qualification from FY2027-28: Start building the documentation infrastructure now – supplier GreenPro certificates, NISST star rating documentation, recycled content declarations, and LCA summaries. Contractors who have two years of verified green procurement data by FY2027-28 will have a strong qualification advantage when the mandate activates.

GreenPro 2.0 Is Not a Certification Update. It Is a Market Restructuring.

When the world’s first green steel taxonomy launches, when the EU begins charging carbon tariffs at its borders, and when a ₹15,000 crore national mission targets industry-wide decarbonisation – something fundamental has changed. Eco-efficiency is no longer a sustainability aspiration. It is a market qualification.

GreenPro certification in 2026 operates in this new environment. Its annual renewal cycle, independent audit structure, publicly verifiable certificate registry, and lifecycle LCA framework make it the most credible product-level green credential available in India’s construction materials market. And its alignment with the Green Steel Taxonomy’s MRV requirements, LEED/IGBC/GRIHA credit structures, and CBAM documentation needs means that holding a GreenPro certificate is no longer just a marketing statement – it is supply chain infrastructure.

For construction professionals across Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, and the Northeast, who are building the infrastructure that India’s next decade of growth depends on, the message is clear: the time to build certified, traceable, green steel supply chains is now. Not in FY2027-28. Now.

At Shyam Steel, our GreenPro-certified Fe 500D and Fe 550D TMT rebars already carry the LCA data, recycled content documentation, and annual audit records that this new landscape demands. We are not preparing for the green steel era – we have been building toward it for years.