Highfunctionalitygiventosteelproductsresultsinanincreaseofenvironmentalloadsinthesteelmakingstage.However,atthestageoftheirutilization,thehigh-functionalsteelproductsprovetobemoreenvironmentallyfriendlythantheirconventionalcounterpartsinmanycases.Inviewofthiscontradiction,theevaluationonthecontributionofsteelproductstoenvironmentalimprovementrequiresamoreintegratedapproach-LifeCycleAssessment(LCA),whichincorporatestheeffectsovertheproducts'entirelifecycles.Thispaperdiscussestherelationshipbetweentheimprovementofsteelproducts'performanceandtheaccordingenvironmentalimpactfromtheentirelifecycleperspectives.Howtoevaluateandassessthecontributionofhigh-functionalsteelproductstoenvironmentalimprovementusingLCAmethodisexplainedindetail.TwocasestudiesofBaosteelaregiventosubstantiatetheeffectivenessofLCAasascientificandsystematicmethodforeco-materialevaluationoreco-design:①Forapowertransformer,byreplacingsiliconsteelB30G130withB30P110,thecarbondioxideemissionswerereducedby15.1%overthelifecycleofthetransformer.②TinplatesteelofBaosteelusedfortwo-piecesteelcansexperiencedsixreductionsinthicknessfrom0.28mmto0.225mm,whichresultsina14.5%emissionreductionoverthelifecycleoftwo-piecesteelcans.
