"substantive steps" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You can use it to refer to a particular course of action in a situation. For example, "We need to take substantive steps to address this issue."
He said the council had taken political and substantive steps against its own planning officers' advice.
Opponents call the reforms window dressing anyway, since substantive steps for moving toward democracy have not been addressed.
"We expect substantive steps from the Indian side now to proceed further," General Musharraf said during a visit to the United Arab Emirates.
Those moves have brought criticism from bond analysts who have been urging the state to take substantive steps to cut spending.
The pressure on Israel from Obama, and on Obama from the Arab countries, to end perceived double standards and take substantive steps to advance counter-proliferation goals is likely to increase.
He also told the newspaper the diocese had taken substantive steps to address abuse, including hiring a victims' advocate and a deacon with corrections experience to supervise priests removed from ministry.
His most substantive step in that direction was his campaign to rework First Boston's bloated compensation structure.
Introduction of the House budget will be the first substantive step toward any bipartisan legislative deal on the deficit, but the path forward is narrow and steep.
On Monday, the National Institutes of Health released a fifty-eight-page report on the future of neuroscience — the first substantive step in developing President Obama's BRAIN Initiative, which seeks to "revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury".
Self-driving cars have… On Monday, the National Institutes of Health released a fifty-eight-page report on the future of neuroscience — the first substantive step in developing President Obama's BRAIN Initiative,… How do you know that you aren't just a brain in a vat of bubbling chemicals, hooked up to a virtual-reality simulator?
Although imposing a cap is seen as a substantive step toward reducing carbon emissions, it is unlikely to have much impact on current U.S. energy-industry practices.
