Better Health for All

The company's core business of steel production causes severe, widespread health damage. Pollution from Cleveland Works contributes to over 9,000 asthma symptom cases, 1,700 lost work days, and up to 39 premature deaths annually.

Communities near Middletown, OH, face higher cancer risks due to pollution, exacerbated by coke production. Dearborn facilities release neurotoxic lead and manganese, linked to kidney, immune, cardiovascular, reproductive, and developmental problems. In 2021, over one million pounds of toxic chemicals were released into the air from Dearborn Works. As all revenue is from steel production, 100% of revenue is from activities with established negative health outcomes. These health harms disproportionately affect vulnerable populations; in neighborhoods near Cleveland Works, 62% of residents are people of color and 61% are low-income. The Dearborn plant is in an "environmental justice" area, with children particularly susceptible to neurotoxic effects. While the company reports a 23% decrease in PM 2.5 emissions from 2021 to 2024 and 27% lower GHG intensity than the global average, these remediation efforts are inadequate given the significant community health impacts. Risk disclosures are incomplete, with external calls for more detailed information about pollution releases. The company's only health equity program is a $244,000 supplemental environmental project to provide air purifiers to a Dearborn neighborhood, representing a token investment relative to its $19.2 billion revenue. The company's 2024 Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) for employees was 0.9, marking its safest year since 2020. The company does not offer health-related products or services.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

AK Steel Holding Corporation, now Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., is a steel producer and does not offer consumer lending, deposit services, or other financial products. Therefore, all KPIs related to financial services, such as underserved client share, pricing fairness, exploitative fee exposure, inclusion initiatives, data accessibility, fair lending compliance, wealth building outcome, financial literacy initiatives, debt burden ratio, geographic inclusion, and product simplicity, are not applicable. While the Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation has invested over $3,250,000 in cash contributions to support food insecurity in communities throughout the United States and Canada where the company operates

, this is not evidence of profit reinvestment in community finance or profit-sharing with underserved communities as defined by the rubric.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Cleveland-Cliffs reported a CEO-to-median employee pay ratio of 125:1 for the fiscal year ending 2024.

Over 70% of the total workforce is represented by three prominent unions: United Steelworkers (USW), United Auto Workers (UAW), and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). The company achieved a Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) of 0.8 per 200,000 hours worked in 2025, which is its lowest since becoming a steel company.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

The company mandates that all suppliers of goods and services adhere to ethical principles, including respect for basic human rights, fair wages, maximum working hours, and prohibitions against forced labor, child labor, and discriminatory practices

. Suppliers are also required to declare compliance with the prohibition of counterfeit parts and to promote these principles with upstream suppliers . For supplier non-conformance reports, permanent corrective measures are required within 15 days of receiving a complaint . If non-conforming material causes a major production disruption, suppliers must submit an approved corrective action plan within 10 days .

Honest & Fair Business

Cleveland-Cliffs and its subsidiaries incurred over $103 million in ethics-related regulatory fines between 2023 and 2025.

These penalties were primarily for air pollution, environmental, and workplace safety violations. The company has a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Anti-Corruption Policy available, indicating an FCPA-compliant policy is in place. However, there is no evidence provided regarding the frequency of training or metrics on the policy's effectiveness.

Kind to Animals

The company, through its parent Cleveland-Cliffs, engages in significant wildlife conservation initiatives. It partners with the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC)

and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) , with its Coshocton Works receiving a "Wildlife at Work" certification. Conservation efforts have resulted in the improvement of over 46,000 acres of critical habitat , reconnection of more than 2,200 miles of stream for fish passage , and the planting of 52,000 trees. The company has also restored over two acres of native Ohio prairie land at one facility , with plans to expand to 15-20 acres , and provided nesting boxes for bluebirds and purple martins. In 2022, $18.1 million was awarded to over 50 projects , and in 2024, $20 million was awarded from NFWF and partners, including Cleveland-Cliffs, for conservation.

No War, No Weapons

The company is identified as a "big supplier of military steel for the Department of Defense"

and its materials are used in the aerospace, defense, and marine industries . However, no specific percentage of company revenue derived from arms or defense contracts is provided. Regarding conflict minerals, the company states that for the 2024 reporting period, it is "unable to exclude the possibility that some of the tin... originated, or may have originated, in the Covered Countries and may not be from recycled or scrap sources." No percentage of the supply chain certified free from conflict minerals is available. For all other ethical value KPIs, the provided articles do not contain specific, quantitative data points required for scoring.

Planet-Friendly Business

The company maintained a 'B' score for TCFD alignment in 2023, which is higher than global and sector averages.

Its TCFD report includes climate scenario analysis performed by a third party under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. Additionally, none of the company's steelmaking or mining locations are in areas of water stress, meaning 0% of its water withdrawal is sourced from such basins.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

The company partners with over 40 organizations to address food insecurity in communities throughout the United States and Canada where it operates.

The Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation has invested more than $3,250,000 in cash contributions to support food insecurity in these communities over the past five years, including a $250,000 donation to more than 40 organizations in February 2025.

Safe & Smart Tech

100% of salaried employees receive mandatory, multi-phase, quarterly cybersecurity training.

The company reported no material cybersecurity events in 2024 and has not sold or shared personal information of prospective employees as defined by California Law. It states compliance with CCPA, CPRA, and other California privacy laws, providing California residents with rights to know, access, delete, and correct their personal data, and allowing cookie management. The company typically collects limited personal data as part of an overall effort to reduce privacy impact. It uses multi-factor authentication, vulnerability and patch management, and periodically conducts penetration testing and tabletop exercises with third-party experts. The privacy policy outlines data minimization and purpose limitation principles. The company does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

The company's steel products are 100% recyclable at end-of-life.

In 2021, the overall waste diversion rate was 43.23%, with 49% of non-hazardous waste and 27% of hazardous waste recycled. Electrical steel products contain approximately 75–85% post-consumer and post-industrial recycled materials. Cleveland-Cliffs employs circular design principles, focusing on closed-loop steel recycling, reusing coarse tailings, and reprocessing residuals back into operations. The company has implemented multiple waste reduction initiatives, including replacing sintering ore products with process residuals, piloting a process to generate usable base oils, and phasing out pulverized coal injection. Hazardous waste management includes producing iron ore pellets through mechanical, magnetic, and flotation methods to avoid generating large quantities of hazardous waste.