ArcelorMittal invests in resiliency of nonprofit partners

Today, ArcelorMittal USA announced that 14 nonprofit partners will receive funding support totaling $318,500 as part of its pilot community investment initiative, “Building Resilience: Investing in Nonprofit Sustainability.” 

Launched in October 2017, the program earmarked funding to invest in areas of nonprofit management traditionally underfunded by foundations and corporations. More than 100 nonprofit organizations around the country, all of which have received grant funding from ArcelorMittal in the past, were invited to apply. More than 65 applications were received with funding requests totaling more than $2.5 million.

The 14 nonprofit organizations selected to receive ‘Building Resilience’ funds are in the Calumet region (Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana), Ohio and Pennsylvania. The average grant size is $22,750. The 2017 funding will help to ensure grantees have the necessary resources to complete projects in the following areas:

• Strategic planning
• Program enhancement or expansion
• Professional or leadership development
• Technology implementation and data management
• Fundraising enhancement or expansion

“Every day, we focus on the sustainability and resiliency of our business. We are actively looking for ways to reduce costs, improve safety and efficiency, and enhance our bottom line. Simultaneously, we work to honor the social and environmental obligations we have as a company,” said John Brett, president and CEO, ArcelorMittal USA. “It was time to extend that same focus on sustainability and resiliency to our community partners. These grants will allow our partners to address challenges and think outside the box to prepare for long-term success.”

“Every day, we focus on the sustainability and resiliency of our business... It was time to extend that same focus on sustainability and resiliency to our community partners."
– John Brett, president and CEO, ArcelorMittal USA

ArcelorMittal’s journey to sustainability accelerated in 2014 with the creation and implementation of 10 sustainable development outcomes. From products and processes to environmental impact and community relationships, these 10 outcomes drive ArcelorMittal to invest in the long-term sustainability of its business. In its latest annual Integrated Report titled “Building Resilience,” ArcelorMittal recognized it was not enough to be sustainable – it must also be resilient. 

“It’s important to distinguish between sustainability and resilience,” said Marcy Twete, executive director of the ArcelorMittal USA Foundation. “Being a sustainable business means we will continue to operate successfully in the future. Our success must also meet the expectations of our shareholders and our stakeholders. Resilience goes one step further, requiring us to think about our ability to anticipate challenges and navigate setbacks.”

The creation of ‘Building Resilience’ came after a nearly year-long exercise with IO Sustainability and the Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals (ACCP) on a process called "The Business of Social Investments." Through this process, the team assessed ArcelorMittal USA’s community investments since 2006. While feedback was highly positive, the team recommended increasing direct ties between ArcelorMittal’s commitment to sustainability and resiliency and its community investment portfolio. This sparked the idea of what is now the ‘Building Resilience’ initiative.

“In their 10 sustainable development outcomes, ArcelorMittal outlined a powerful roadmap for sustainability,” said Steve Rochlin, co-founder and CEO, IO Sustainability. “We saw an opportunity to extend their expertise in sustainability and resilience to their community partners. The ArcelorMittal team shared with us their deep trust in their partners, and their desire to see these organizations grow and thrive. Through ‘Building Resilience,’ ArcelorMittal will deepen their community connections and extend their roadmap’s reach exponentially.”

ArcelorMittal CEO John Brett agrees. “This truly is an important opportunity for us to ‘walk our talk’ on sustainability and resilience. After all, we are only as strong as our communities,” he said.

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and an industrial footprint in 18 countries. Guided by a philosophy to produce safe, sustainable steel, we are the leading supplier of quality steel in the major global steel markets including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with world-class research and development and outstanding distribution networks. 

Through our core values of sustainability, quality and leadership, we operate responsibly with respect to the health, safety and well-being of our employees, contractors and the communities in which we operate.

For us, steel is the fabric of life, as it is at the heart of the modern world from railways to cars and washing machines. We are actively researching and producing steel-based technologies and solutions that make many of the products and components people use in their everyday lives more energy efficient. 

We are one of the world’s five largest producers of iron ore and metallurgical coal. With a geographically diversified portfolio of iron ore and coal assets, we are strategically positioned to serve our network of steel plants and the external global market. While our steel operations are important customers, our supply to the external market is increasing as we grow. 

In 2016, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $56.8 billion and crude steel production of 90.8 million metric tons, while own iron ore production reached 55.2 million metric tons. ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS).

For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit corporate.arcelormittal.com or usa.arcelormittal.com.