Steel.Day Showcases Ways to Achieve Greater Circularity in Construction and Industry
Steel.Day on June 26, 2026, will focus on how the circular economy can be implemented in practice in the construction and industrial sectors. ArcelorMittal, Welser Profile, and the Zinq Group are bringing together decision-makers, end-users, and representatives from the worlds of politics and academia to discuss this topic.
The goal of the Steel.Day event, which takes place in Gelsenkirchen, is to highlight concrete approaches for increasing circularity along the steel value chain and to promote discussion of economically viable solutions. The construction sector faces the challenge of reducing CO₂ emissions while simultaneously keeping materials in functional cycles over the long term. Steel.Day addresses these issues and highlights, among other things, the importance of material quality, life-cycle costs, eco-design, as well as environmental product declarations and digital product passports. The event will be opened by North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister of Construction, Ina Scharrenbach, with a keynote address on the construction and resource transition. Speakers include Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart, co-founder of the Cradle to Cradle concept, Roland Bechmann of Werner Sobek AG, and Christian Donath of the ECO Platform AISBL. Co-host Zinq was awarded the German Environmental Prize in 2025. “Circularity is becoming a decisive success factor for industry and the construction sector. The German Environmental Award confirms that circular business models can be implemented in energy- and resource-intensive industries,” says Lars Baumgürtel, managing partner of the Zinq Group.
Steel.Day as a Platform for the Circular Economy
In addition to the construction sector, the event is also aimed at companies that develop circular products and wish to bring them into industrial application. Practical examples demonstrate how such concepts are already being implemented. Among other things, a modular pavilion made of hot-dip galvanized steel for the 2027 International Garden Exhibition in Gelsenkirchen will be presented; it is fully demountable and designed for later reuse. In addition, Madaster will explain the use of digital material inventories and product passports for documenting resources. The Rhine-Ruhr Transport Association (VRR) will demonstrate how public tenders are increasingly geared toward circular products and business models. With Steel.Day, the organizers aim to create a platform where representatives from the construction sector, industry, academia, and politics can jointly discuss the framework conditions for a functioning circular economy. The focus is on concrete solutions designed to help use resources more efficiently and implement circular business models in an economically successful manner.
Contact details and information on the companies and institutions presented here can be found in our interactive surface technology industry directory.