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UC RUSAL joins ASI
ASI is delighted to welcome UC RUSAL as a new member in the Production and Transformation membership class. RUSAL is a leading, global aluminium producer and operates in 19 countries on 5 continents. The company’s main products are primary aluminium, aluminium alloys, foil and alumina.
RUSAL is a completely vertically integrated aluminium company with assets right through the production process – from bauxite and nepheline ore mines to aluminium smelters and foil mills. The company’s core smelting capacities are located in Siberia, thus benefiting from the access to the renewable and environmentally clean hydropower.
“As one of the leading low carbon aluminium producers, RUSAL is happy to contribute to the development and implementation of a standard for aluminium stewardship across the aluminium value chain. Thanks to a combination of its unique properties, such as light weight, durability and resistance to corrosion, aluminium is widely recognized as one of the most sustainable materials in use today. Development of a standard that would be an international benchmark for procurement will significantly contribute to further sustainability improvement for the whole industry, making aluminium a metal of choice of the 21st century,” commented Vladislav Soloviev, CEO of RUSAL.
For more information visit www.rusal.com
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ASI's Year in Review
2015 marks another landmark year for ASI. Since an initial group of stakeholders first came together in 2009 to discuss responsible aluminium, ASI has continued to build its vision and make progress towards an independent, third party certification program.
Following on from the publication of the ASI Performance Standard at the end of 2014, IUCN received a Gold Facilitation Impact Award award for its externally facilitated, multi-stakeholder standards-setting process. In July this year, the Standards Setting Group (SSG) met for a week to review potential indicators of conformance for the Performance Standard. ASI's first 'Theory of Change' was developed. Work has also commenced on the ASI assurance model, which aims to take a risk-based approach and will be a major focus of work in 2016.
Governance has been the other central theme for 2015. In June, the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative Ltd was incorporated in Australia as a non-profit legal entity. The new ASI membership structure was agreed and 10 new members were welcomed across all 6 membership classes, bringing ASI's total members to 23. A new Complaints Mechanism was developed with the SSG's input and valuable recommendations from indigenous peoples organisations. ASI's future governance model is undergoing full discussion and is hoped to be implemented in time for ASI's first Annual General Meeting in April 2016.
This year, ASI has presented at conferences in Vancouver, Berlin and Qingdao, and provided stakeholder briefings in London and Brussels. Monthly newsletters and a refreshed website all aim to keep the growing number of interested stakeholders up to date on ASI's development.
None of this would have been possible without the dedication and passion of many, many individuals. ASI sincerely thanks all members, stakeholders and staff for their commitment and contributions to the ongoing success of the initiative.
We wish everyone all the best for the holiday season and a successful 2016!
With best wishes,
Dr Fiona Solomon
ASI Executive Director
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ASI AND CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION
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The COP 21 meetings in Paris this month have resulted in an agreement to keep global average temperatures below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and for countries to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. ASI aims to contribute to the global effort for climate change action through the development of its Certification program for the aluminium value chain.
The ASI Performance Standard, published in December 2014, explicitly recognises the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and requires entities seeking ASI Certification to commit to reducing their GHG emissions from a lifecycle perspective to mitigate their climate impacts.
The Performance Standard includes specific criteria applicable through the aluminium value chain. All entities seeking ASI Certification are required to publicly disclose GHG emissions and energy use by source on an annual basis, and to publish time-bound emissions reductions targets. The targets need to cover the most material sources of direct and indirect emissions and be supported by implementation plans.
As approximately 80% of all GHG emissions in the aluminium industry worldwide relate to the energy-intensive smelting process, the ASI Performance Standard also includes two smelter-specific criteria. Smelters starting production after 2020 must achieve a level of direct and indirect (Scope 1 and 2) GHG emissions below 8 tonnes CO2-eq per metric tonne of aluminium produced. Existing aluminium smelters that were in production before 2020 must achieve the 8 tonnes CO2-eq per metric tonne level by 2030.
To put this in perspective, the current global average for aluminium ingot production is estimated to be 12 CO2-eq per metric tonne. ASI's Performance Standard requirements thus represent a shift towards a lowered emissions profile for the sector that is both significant and long-term. Furthermore, ASI's Certification program can ideally help to create market drivers for change.
Looking ahead, ASI had committed to explore what a 2°C compliant GHG emissions trajectory would look like for the aluminium sector and will also consider the implications of the new COP 21 global agreement. A GHG Working Group will be established in 2016 under the ASI Standards Committee, to enable input and engagement with climate change experts, members and stakeholders. Once the 2°C trajectory is better understood, ASI will take the findings into account in the next revision of the Performance Standard.
If you are interested in participating in this process, please contact:
info@aluminium-stewardship.org
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The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) will hold its inaugural Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 at the Audi Forum, Ingolstadt, Germany.
This free event is open to industry, civil society and all interested organisations. It will provide the opportunity to network with a wide range of stakeholders in the aluminium value chain, and connect with ASI's work to develop sustainability standards for the sector.
The day's agenda will include:
- Formal AGM proceedings (ASI members only)
- Keynote speakers on aluminium and sustainability
- Updates on ASI's work to develop a certification program covering sustainability performance and chain of custody for aluminium
- Audi factory tours, hosted in French, German and English.
Registrations are now open at:
http://aluminium-stewardship.org/asi-agm-2016-registration/
Register now as places are limited to 100. There is no cost to attend.
Questions? Please contact info@aluminium-stewardship.org
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 Join the ASI mailing list if you didn't receive this newletter directly.
 Follow ASI on LinkedIn at its new Company page!
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 Keep up to date on upcoming ASI events via the ASI Events Calendar.
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