INTRODUCTION

MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT AND CEO


Dear U. S. Steel Stakeholders:
 

2023 was historic for U. S. Steel — which is certainly saying something when you are talking about an iconic, 123-year old company. Most importantly, it was a year of record — indeed, historic — safety performance.

“Safety first” is U. S. Steel’s mantra, and always will be, and in 2023 we lived that mantra more than ever. We delivered an unprecedented safety performance — besting even prior records that we set in 2022 and 2021. Our fundamental goal is that everybody goes home safely after their shift.

Or put another way: Safety is our core value.

2023 was historic in a different way as well, as we announced an agreement to be acquired by Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest steelmaker, with investment grade credit ratings, a global footprint, and an unwavering focus, like U. S. Steel, on values-based leadership and ethical conduct. U. S. Steel’s pending transaction with Nippon Steel is terrific news for all our stakeholders: stockholders, customers, employees, communities — and our respective countries — who will all benefit from the new U. S. Steel.

It is also terrific news for the planet. Nippon Steel boasts unique expertise in emerging decarbonization technologies like carbon capture and hydrogen power and is a leader in operating integrated steelmaking profitably. Nippon Steel also commands a significant annual budget for research and development. Their pending investment in U. S. Steel sets us up for great gains in sustainability in the months and years to come.

That’s crucial because sustainability is now fully ingrained in U. S. Steel’s corporate strategy. That is to say, for U. S. Steel, business strategy and sustainability are inherently linked. We don’t labor under the illusion that making steel more sustainable is an easy task, however; we know that to be the best stewards of the planet that we can, we will need to innovate.

And in 2023, innovate we did. For instance, we are meeting our customers’ demands for lighter and stronger steels, while deploying lower emissions technology in innovative ways. The upshot? New and innovative products like COASTALUME™, a maintenance-free and highly sustainable roofing and siding solution, designed specifically for those who work and live along our nation’s coastlines. We also continue to innovate steelmaking processes as well; for instance, collaborating with CarbonFree to capture and mineralize up to 50,000 metric tons of CO2 annually at our Gary Works facility.

As we operated safely, innovated, and executed a momentous transaction, U. S. Steel also made steady progress on our in-flight strategic projects in 2023. Our DR-grade pellet facility at Keetac was completed on-time and on-budget. We cut the ribbon on our non-grain-oriented steel line at Big River Steel (BR1), empowering us to play a key role in advancing a greener economy. Work on our continuous galvanizing line, also at BR1, continues on track as well. And in late 2024, we look forward to the opening of BR2, our state-of-the-art mini mill that is rising out of a former soybean field, just next to the existing BR1. We see the sustainable future clearly and are accelerating this vision with our customers.

Thank you for your interest in and support of our company. As we move forward in partnership with Nippon Steel to become the best steelmaker with world-leading capabilities, we will continue on our sustainability journey — because we know that sustainable steelmaking is not only necessary to combat climate change, but is also a business imperative.

 

Best,

Dave Burritt

President and Chief Executive Officer

INTRODUCTION

At U. S. Steel, our mission of delivering profitable steel solutions for people and planet underlies everything we do. In 2023, supported by our Board of Directors (Board), we continued our work to fulfill this mission by executing our strategy to deliver the BEST for all our stakeholders.
Our culture is based on our S.T.E.E.L. Principles: Safety First; Trust and Respect; Environmental Stewardship; Excellence and Accountability; and Lawful and Ethical Conduct. We expect our employees and members of our Board to take personal responsibility to “do what’s right,” and our Code of Ethical Business Conduct serves as the foundation for the actions of our employees and directors. To further ensure that employees understand the Company’s expectations and all applicable rules, we provide annual ethics and compliance training to our employees and share communications about key compliance topics, including senior management messages underscoring the importance of doing business with integrity. In addition, through our annual policy certification process, employees of U. S. Steel Košice (USSK) in Košice, Slovakia, non-represented employees in the United States, and members of our Board certify their ongoing compliance with our Code of Ethical Business Conduct.