Industry leaders lay down standard for aluminium sustainability

TWO years into the establishment of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), the organization consisting of leaders in various industries, recently specified the criteria for improving the sustainability performance of products.

Packaging solutions provider Ball Corporation, which in 2014 announced its support of ASI and its goals, has since then partnered with Constellium, Hydro, Novelis and Rio Tinto Alcan, as well as 15 NGOs to define sustainability issues pertinent to the aluminum value chain.

The ASI Performance Standard covers issues in production and sourcing of aluminum, from the extraction of bauxite to the producers of commercial and consumer goods and the recycling of pre- and post-consumer aluminium scrap. The new standard will focus on 11 sustainability aspects: business integrity; policy and management; transparency; material stewardship; greenhouse gas emissions; water; emissions, effluents and waste; biodiversity; human rights; labor rights; and occupational health and safety.

“The development of a global standard that encourages responsible sourcing throughout the aluminium supply chain is a significant step in the right direction for the aluminium industry and for Ball as we continually work to drive operational excellence, reduce our environmental impacts and drive social progress," said Bjoern Kulmann, director of sustainability at Ball.

A third-party certification system will implement the ASI Performance Standard. It is expected that certification of compliance can apply at both the company level and the product level. Several end-users have indicated their intent to buy certified aluminium as soon as it is available.

"The aluminium industry is committed to maximizing the value that its products and activities generate, while minimizing their impacts. Working together with industry representatives of the aluminium value chain and of civil society to improve the industry's performance and make it more sustainable is a win-win for everyone," said Jostein Soreide, manager sustainability and LCA of Hydro, and co-chair of the ASI Standard Setting Group. "We, the companies behind the ASI Standard, expect now to bring more peers on board."

The ASI Performance Standard also addresses maximum transparency to allow players in the industry to provide independent, credible and verifiable information regarding their environmental, social and governance performance. This will enable the identification of suppliers and materials based on their sustainability performance.