Our foundation is currently focusing on accelerating the decarbonisation of global steel production in line with our environmental program. We seek and fund projects that speed up significant emission reductions and build comprehensive solutions and networks to address environmental crises across borders. In addition to the steel theme, we fund projects that aim to address critical bottlenecks in environmental decision-making.
You can learn more about the content of our project portfolio on this page. To get started, please watch the video below, which explains our theory of change underlying our environmental program for reducing global carbon emissions.
The strategy to influence carbon emissions from steel production is summarized in the following image, with three intermediate goals:
- Increasing demand for green steel
- Investors demanding emission reductions
- Steel companies implementing emission reductions
The steel-related projects we fund support the overall framework formed by these intermediate goals, aiming for global emissions reductions in the steel sector.
The steel-related projects we fund form a coherent programme built around these milestones, with the aim of driving global emissions reductions in the steel sector. In the 2024–2025 financial year, we awarded a total of EUR 8.5 million in grants. Around 80% of this funding went to projects advancing green steel.
Most of the world’s steel production is concentrated in Asia, but the climate impacts are global. Because supply chains are international, cutting industrial emissions requires solutions that work at a global scale. That is why many of the projects we support focus on reducing emissions in the Asian steel industry
Currently, we are funding the following projects aligned with the respective intermediate goals:
Increasing demand for green steel
Compensate Foundation
Grant: €100,000
Duration: 2022–2023
Compensate is a Finnish foundation whose subsidiary, Compensate Operations Ltd, sells voluntary carbon offsets in carbon markets. We fund the analysis and advocacy work of the Compensate Foundation to address deficiencies in the carbon offsetting system and encourage companies to reduce emissions in their core operations. Our funding enables independent analysis by Compensate, which has gained international media attention for its quality.
Hiilivapaa Suomi
Granted: €65,500
Duration: 2022–2023
Hiilivapaa Suomi is a climate campaign under Friends of the Earth Finland aiming to accelerate deep decarbonisation through Finnish and Nordic steel buyers, institutional investors and infrastructure projects. With the foundation’s funding, the campaign among other things evaluates the steel policies of companies and financial institutions, and exerts pressure through the means of communications, advocacy and public campaigning.
IDDRI
Grant: €210,460
Duration: 2024–2025
IDDRI (Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations) is a French research organization and think tank that is working on a project to develop better methods for car dismantling to increase the supply of high-quality scrap steel. Sufficiently high-quality recycled steel reduces the need for virgin steel, and the project’s approach not only reduces emissions from the automotive industry but also motivates and engages the industry in promoting green steel. This makes it particularly interesting in the context of our foundation’s theory of change and overall project portfolio.
Institut Mobilités en Transition (IMT)
Granted: €147,825
Period: 2025
After two years of incubation within IDDRI, the Mobilité en Transition initiative has become the Institut Mobilités en transition (IMT) in order to pursue its development. IMT is carrying out the project “Steel Car to Car – Part 2,” which builds on a pilot phase funded in 2023. The goal is to improve the quality of steel recovered from end-of-life vehicles to accelerate the shift to low-emission steel in the automotive industry.
The project focuses on the economic feasibility of post-shredding treatment stages. At Derichebourg’s facility, IMT and INDRA assess how increasing operator numbers and updated procedures affect copper recovery and scrap quality. The project analyzes current practices and develops recommendations for industry and the European Commission.
It also compares results with major recycling countries such as China and India. Information is collected through literature reviews, interviews, and site visits. The project supports the green steel transition by improving recycled material quality and reducing raw material risks in the car industry.
SteelZero
Grant: €54 000 € × 2 / €400 000
Duration: 2021–2023 / 2025–2027
SteelZero is the first global initiative to establish a credible framework for aggregating demand signals from companies committed to purchasing lower-emissions steel. Industry leaders across major steel-using sectors and regions have already made interim commitments to increase the share of lower-emissions steel in their procurement by 2030, with the goal of reaching net-zero emissions associated with their steel use by 2050.
SteelZero seeks to signal to markets and policymakers that buyers are ready for zero-emission supply chains, helping to catalyze the steel sector’s transition to net zero. The current project focuses on improving data transparency on emissions intensity and scrap share through strengthened member reporting, underscoring the need for credible, comparable lower-emissions steel data across international supply chains.
SteelZero also aims to broaden its engagement with buyers and stakeholders in key steel-consuming markets, with particular attention to the real estate and construction sectors, including in China.
The Sunrise Project
Grant: €300,000 / €419,000–454,000 × 3
Duration: 2022–2023 / 2023–2026
The Sunrise Project is an Australian organization with partners in the United States, Asia and Europe, focusing on financing and developing campaign work. Our foundation has provided funding to The Sunrise Project for their strategic planning and implementation of advocacy that targets automakers to transition to sourcing fossil-free steel. The resulting coalition, Lead the Charge, focuses on stakeholder engagement and has utilized a public campaign tool called the Leaderboard. This tool allows for the comparison of different automakers’ progress towards more responsible supply chains.
Renewable Energy Institute (REI)
Granted: €300,000
Period: 2025–2027
The Renewable Energy Institute (REI) is a Japanese think tank focused on combating climate change and promoting the transition to renewable energy. This funded project builds the knowledge base needed to spark demand for green steel in Japan’s construction sector.
It examines the impact of green steel adoption and product-specific demand on construction costs and the green premium. The project also develops policy recommendations and strategies for increasing green steel use and strengthening regulation. Through research and stakeholder collaboration, it connects key actors capable of advancing the transition in Japan.
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
Granted: 185 000 € + 400 000 €
Period: 2025–2026
RMI is a U.S.-based independent non-profit working globally to accelerate the transition to a clean, prosperous and zero-carbon energy system. The TAH Foundation currently funds two projects by RMI: Scaling Green Steel Demand in Southeast Asia and Exploring Pathways for Low-Emission Steel in China.
The first project extends RMI’s green-steel demand work into Southeast Asia, a region where steel production and consumption are growing rapidly. RMI identifies companies with significant climate goals, assesses their potential demand for green steel and aggregates these insights to highlight emerging market opportunities. The project also brings regional stakeholders together to strengthen demand signals and support future offtake pathways. The work contributes to building the market conditions needed for large-scale investment in low-emission steel.
The second project examines opportunities for low-emission steelmaking in China, focusing on regions with favourable access to clean energy, hydrogen and iron ore. It also reviews potential international value-chain pathways and maps relevant global industry actors to understand collaboration dynamics. By providing analysis and facilitating expert dialogue, the project supports a better understanding of possible transition pathways in the world’s largest steel-producing country
Transport & Environment
Granted: €170,000 /€376,000
Duration: 2024/2025–2026
Transport & Environment (T&E) is a campaigning organization for cleaner transport and one of Europe’s most influential transport-focused NGOs. It works closely with the automotive industry and has expanded its focus to also grow demand for green steel. T&E engages at the EU level—working, for example, on Ecodesign policy, CBAM (the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism), and the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive—as well as in Germany. T&E tracks automakers’ green steel commitments and challenges greenwashing. With the granted funding, T&E will also conduct a scoping study to map demand for green steel in areas such as public transport vehicles and rail infrastructure. T&E’s work is also connected to our portfolio through partners such as IDDRI and EEB.
World Wide Fund for Nature – India
Granted: 125 730 € / €320,000
Period: 2024 / 2025–2026
WWF India is part of the global World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which focuses on environmental conservation. The WWF India project aims to reduce the carbon intensity of India’s steel production by 30 percent by 2030 compared to 2023 levels. The work centers on multi-stakeholder collaboration coordinated through the India Green Steel Coalition network. The TAH Foundation funds the initiative, which seeks to raise awareness among manufacturers and the government about emerging markets for green steel. The goal is to encourage more companies to adopt sustainable practices in the steel sector through governmental policy measures as well as independent corporate actions. The project builds commitments to responsible steel production and consumption and accelerates investments in low-emission technologies. WWF Finland supports this work as part of the foundation’s strategy to influence global emissions where the impact is greatest.
Investors demanding emissions reductions
ActionAid Denmark
Grant: €80,000 / €100,000
Duration: 2024–2025 / 2025–2026
The project aims to encourage major Nordic financial institutions to accelerate emissions reductions in the steel sector through two approaches: (1) engaging with steel producers through collaborative investor action and (2) excluding from their investment portfolios mining companies involved in the extraction and production of metallurgical coal. The project will continue this exclusion and investor engagement work with Nordic financial institutions in collaboration with European partners, and it will also engage with the media and political decision-makers. ActionAid Denmark contributes to an interim objective in the TAH Foundation’s theory of change: leveraging investors’ influence to accelerate emissions reductions in the steel sector.
Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR)
Grant: €250,000 / €300,000 /€750,000
Duration: 2022–2023 / 2024–2025 / 2025–2028
ACCR is a global organization specializing in investor engagement, aiming to influence the investment decisions of steel companies through their shareholders. We fund ACCR’s work in producing steel-specific analysis for investors to utilize in their engagements with steel companies. ACCR is currently focused on influencing major steel companies in Japan, including collaboration with Nordic investors.
Carbon Tracker Initiative
Awarded: €150,000
Period: 2025
Carbon Tracker is a global think tank known for its financial analysis of climate risk. The project will be carried out in collaboration with Carbon Transition Analytics, which has deep expertise in the steel sector.
The funding supports an analysis of ten major steel companies planning new blast furnace projects in India and Southeast Asia. The goal is to assess transition risks and support engagement between investors and companies on reducing climate-related financial risks.
Roughly two-thirds of the budget is allocated to analysis, with the remaining third dedicated to applying the results through investor engagement, webinars, and meetings. The analysis will also be made available to other investor-focused organizations such as ACCR.
Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC)
Grant: €180,000
Duration: 2024–2025
Founded in 2016, Solutions for our Climate (SFOC) is an international organization for climate research and advocacy, aiming to push emission actors towards compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement. In this project, SFOC leverages collaboration with institutional investors to accelerate the Korean heavy steel industry towards the carbon neutrality target of the Paris Agreement. The project establishes an investor network with connections not only to major steel manufacturers but also to global automakers, whose role in increasing demand for green steel is strategic also in the TAH Foundation’s project portfolio.
Transition Asia
Grant: €150,000 / €150,000 × 2
Duration: 2022–2023 / 2024–2026
Transition Asia is a nonprofit expert organization that aims to accelerate the transition to zero-emission production for large steel companies in East Asia, particularly through the utilization of hydrogen-based direct reduction. The organization consists of investment professionals who have direct connections to both corporate representatives and significant venture capitalists in the industry. The project collaborates with ACCR and supports the WWF Finland SBTi roadmap work also funded by TAH Foundation.
WWF/SBTi
Grant: €60,000
Duration: 2021–2022
In the WWF/SBTi project, we fund the coordination work of WWF Finland to support the development of a science-based roadmap for the steel sector. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a collaboration among major international organizations that has successfully engaged thousands of companies across various sectors in science-based emissions reduction targets aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory. The SBTi projects also assess the investment pathways required by steel sector companies to achieve these targets. The project we fund has established a stakeholder network to raise the ambition of the roadmap. Additionally, the work has brought together an international network of actors capable of engaging Nordic steel buyers and industrial investors to build a green steel ecosystem. Read more in our blog.
Steel companies implementing emissions reductions
Climate Leadership Coalition (CLC)
Granted: €10,000 / €100,000
Period: 2024–2025 / 2025–2026
Climate Leadership Coalition (CLC) is the largest corporate climate network in Europe. In collaboration with the international We Mean Business Coalition and Demos Helsinki, the project aims to boost cooperation between companies and policymakers to cut steel industry emissions in the Nordics and across Europe.
The project develops a practical cooperation model to demonstrate how regional action can accelerate emission reductions more effectively than slow international negotiations. The model will be replicated in other regions as well. It also seeks to enhance the Nordics’ appeal for industrial investments and foster long-term partnerships in a global context where major economic powers like the EU, Germany, and the US actively support the steel sector.
The project also influences EU policymaking to support the shift toward low-emission steel production and includes a detailed roadmap for concrete emission reductions in the Nordic region.
University of Eastern Finland / Torrec Ltd.
Grant: €30,000
Duration: 2022–2023
The joint project between the University of Eastern Finland and Torrec Ltd. focuses on the opportunities of biochar in steel production and carbon sequestration. The project partners are constructing a concept plant for producing biochar, with the added benefit of producing liquid biofuel as a byproduct to enhance its profitability. The production process aims to utilize byproducts from the forest industry. The research project we fund also investigates the use of other biomass sources in biochar production.
University of Oulu
Grant: €400,000 × 4
Duration: 2022–2026
The research project Advanced Steels for a Green Planet (AS4G) at the University of Oulu develops technological solutions for achieving carbon neutrality in the steel industry. The research focuses on topics such as photocatalytic hydrogen production, hydrogen-based steel production methods, utilization of slag from electric arc furnaces for carbon capture, and low-emission production of high-strength steel grades. The project we fund is an example of internationally significant basic research, with insights that can be effectively translated into practice via a evolving multidisciplinary ecosystem of circular economy, hydrogen, and metallurgical industry. Find out more information here.
Analysis of the Asian region and influencing development
University of California, Berkeley
Grant: €600,000
Duration: 2024–2025
The project led by University of California, Berkeley collects and analyzes measurement data to help reduce methane emissions from coal mines and the steel industry located in Asia. Methane is a new topic for many influential policymakers, so measurement technical support is crucial for creating effective emission targets and policy actions. The project is one of the first openings of the TAH Foundation in methane work, which could open an efficient emission reduction path in our project portfolio.
Global Energy Monitor
Grant: €273,105
Duration: 2023–2024
Global Energy Monitor is a global non-governmental organization that maintains databases on fossil fuel and renewable energy projects worldwide. Our foundation funds the organization’s research and analysis work on the emission trends in the Asian steel industry, enabling the monitoring of the steel policies of the region’s major players, especially concerning green steel initiatives.
Pooled Fund on International Energy (PIE)
Grant: €400,000 / €325,000
Duration: 2022–2023 / 2024
PIE is an international coordination body under the European Climate Foundation. The main objective of its steel team is to replace carbon usage in both existing steel plants and new investments. Our foundation funds not only PIE’s campaigning capacity in key Asian countries but also the global Steelwatch campaign. PIE is an experienced and well-connected expert entity in the steel ecosystem, with established operational structures and contacts in areas crucial for our foundation’s steel strategy.
Steelwatch
Grant: €90,000
Duration: 2024
Steelwatch, established in 2023, is an international campaign coordination and strategic steel advocacy organization. Its purpose is to drive steel companies’ transition to green steel in ways that national actors might not be able to achieve. In the project funded by our foundation, several non-governmental organizations operating in Japan are brought together, and through strategic collaboration, the transition of major steel companies in Japan, such as Nippon Steel, can be expedited.
SwitchOn Foundation
Grant: €50,000 / €300,000
Duration: 2022–2023 / 2024–2026
SwitchOn Foundation has successfully promoted renewable energy projects, particularly in the eastern states of India, where there is significant steel and coal mining industry. SwitchOn has strong networks with local businesses and governments. Our foundation funds the expansion of stakeholder engagement for green steel in areas that can serve as role models in India, the world’s second-largest steel-producing country. At the same time, the project opens a window for our foundation to contribute to the development of India’s steel sector and bring together new project initiatives.
Climate Bonds Initiative
Granted: €125,730
Duration: 2024
Climate Bonds Initiative
Climate Bonds Initiative (Climate Bonds) is an international organisation working to mobilise global capital for climate action. Since 2013, Climate Bonds has been an instrumental actor in China’s sustainable finance movement and has cultivated strong networks and partnerships with China’s top policymakers, regulators, and subnational governments. Over the next three years, Climate Bonds will implement the Accelerating the Finance for Credible Steel Sector Transition in China programme. The programme’s goal is to accelerate the mobilisation of capital for financing the transition to a low-carbon steel sector in China.
Guiding policy and regulatory measures
ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards
Awarded: €599,742
Period: 2025–2027
ECOS is an international environmental organization specializing in sustainable standardization at the EU and global levels. With this funding, ECOS aims to accelerate steel decarbonization in the construction sector by promoting policies and standards that increase demand for low-emission and reusable steel.
The project focuses on tools such as green public procurement, the Construction Products Regulation, and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. ECOS also works to develop standards that support reuse and assesses regulatory barriers to alternative materials. The goal is to drive systemic change in construction toward low-carbon and resource-efficient steel use.
European Environmental Bureau
Granted: €220,000
Duration: 2022–2023
EEB is an international umbrella for national environmental organizations in EU countries, the Balkans, Turkey, and Ukraine. The organization has 180 members, and its goal is to promote environmental protection in the European Union and globally. EEB collaborates with EU institutions and actively participates in key expert groups and stakeholder engagement. The purpose of the project we are funding is to increase green steel production in the EU by accelerating public procurement and developing policy measures that support it.
Addressing societal bottlenecks in decision-making
In addition to the steel projects listed above, we fund other environmental projects that broadly support socio-ecological decision-making. Their purpose is to address specific bottlenecks related to a sustainable transition.
Aalto University
Granted: €127,140
Duration: 2021–2023
In the Aalto University project, an international expert group is writing a multidisciplinary textbook for energy engineers. The book combines environmental science understanding with the expertise of energy engineers, aiming to incorporate the environmental impacts of new energy systems more comprehensively into energy engineering education programs. At the same time, a key part of the project is to innovate teaching methods and foster discussions not only between university educators and students but also between research institutions and businesses hiring engineers. The book will be published by the esteemed scientific publisher Springer Nature.
Acter
Granted: €20,000
Duration: 2022–2023
Acter is a non-profit association that develops open-source software to strengthen the influence of civil society. The service allows citizen activists and organizations to efficiently and securely organize their activities, even in politically unstable regions around the world. Our foundation is one of the funders participating in the further development of the application.
Akordi Oy
Granted: €151,576 × 2
Duration: 2023–2025
Akordi is a non-profit social enterprise with 10 years of experience in resolving environmental disputes in Finland. With the support of our foundation, Akordi is building a wide network of cooperation in Finland to enhance capacity for managing conflicts related to the green transition and to create a neutral forum for conflict prevention. The two-year project involves experts and stakeholders working on core issues related to a just transition and who have a direct view of transition-related conflict risks. Read more in a guest blog post.
Climate Move
Granted: €20,000 × 3
Duration: 2021–2024
Climate Move is primarily a citizen movement consisting of young individuals interested in politics and coming from the university world. It encourages a sustainable and fair society through learning together and acting consciously. Through the movement, activists often get their first opportunities to influence political decision-making and negotiate with officials and politicians on issues related to climate change and environmental responsibility. Our foundation’s flexible funding supports the movement’s agile campaign activities.
CoastClim
Granted: €300,000
Duration: 2022–2024
The joint research project CoastClim is a multidisciplinary center for coastal ecosystem and climate research that connects the Tvärminne Zoological Station and the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) at the University of Helsinki with the Baltic Sea Centre at Stockholm University and the Bolin Centre for Climate Research. In other words, it brings together experts in marine ecology, biogeochemistry, and atmospheric research in the Baltic Sea region. CoastClim aims to provide comprehensive information on the interactions between the processes of the Baltic Sea and its coastal environments and the atmosphere, and what this means for the climate. We are funding the work of two postdoctoral researchers in a project that has already produced concrete results, particularly concerning the underestimation of methane as part of carbon emission calculations in marine ecosystems.
Danwatch
Grant: €57,028
Duration: 2024
In the Danwatch project, a Nordic network of journalists is being assembled to promote journalistic collaboration and provide training for climate and business journalists. The goal is to enhance the skills of Nordic journalists in understanding the connections between capital flows and climate change and strengthen the capacity for investigative journalism in the Nordic region. The project includes workshops for journalists and collaboration between editorial offices.
EEAC
Granted: €10,000
Duration: Autumn 2022
The European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils Network (EEAC) is a network of independent expert panels from European countries that consult with their national governments on climate and environmental issues related to sustainable development. The network’s 30th-anniversary seminar was held in Helsinki in the autumn of 2022 in collaboration with the Expert Panel on Sustainable Development, the Finnish Nature Panel, and the Finnish Climate Change Panel. Our foundation was one of the event’s funders.
Global Commons Alliance
Granted: €500,000 × 2
Duration: 2022–2024
The Global Commons Alliance (GCA) is our foundation’s first partner to receive funding under the strategic period 2020–2025. Their ambitious environmental work aims to systematically scale up a safe and equitable future for both people and the entire planet. Our foundation is one of the funders, including significantly larger environmental funders from elsewhere in Europe and the United States. You can read more about the project in our blog.
University of Eastern Finland
Granted: €180,000
Duration: 2023–2025
The THORMS project at the University of Eastern Finland examines the factors, risks, and changes related to the acceptability of wind power in Finland. The project generates researched information about the acceptability of wind power and, more broadly, renewable energy in a situation where the amount of renewable energy is rapidly increasing as part of the green transition. The results of the project help to understand acceptability as a prerequisite for the green transition and anticipate challenges, conflicts, and issues related to acceptability.
Nouhau Productions Oy and Yleisradio Oy
Granted: €80,000
Duration: 2021–2023
Nouhau Productions Oy produced the documentary series “Ilmaston muuttajat” (Climate Changers) broadcast on Finnish Yleisradio, which brings up climate change mitigation as a cross-cutting societal challenge. The five-part series specifically highlights climate solutions found in the most emission-intensive industrial sectors. The documentaries were released in the spring of 2023 and are still available on Yle Areena (in Finnish).
Sininen pallo
Granted: €33,334
Duration: Annually from 2022 on
The Sininen pallo Award is an annual recognition awarded for pioneering and scalable technology or scientific research as a response to the environmental crisis. It is awarded to solutions that, through their existence, change the behavior of citizens. The prize amount is €100,000, and our foundation is one of its grantors, along with the Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation and the Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland SLS.
Tina Nyfors’ doctoral research
Granted: €26,000 + €28,000 × 2
Duration: 2022–2025
In her doctoral work, Tina Nyfors explores the potential of the concept of “sufficiency” in decision-making and how the concept is understood at the grassroots level among activists in a Finnish sufficiency-related movement. The interaction between “bottom-up” and “top-down” approaches is at the center of her research.