Aluminium Stewardship Initiative joins mining and metal companies with users like Apple and Nespresso to set and enhance governance, environmental and social standards for the industry
United Arab Emirates: Emirates Global Aluminium has become the first Middle East-headquartered aluminium company to join the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, which brings the world’s leading mining and metals companies together with household-name aluminium customers to set global standards for governance, environmental and social responsibility.
EGA has invested almost $1 billion since 2010 in environmental technologies and facilities to reduce and manage its emissions and waste, and makes important social contributions including creating employment, spurring broader economic development and focusing on safety and worker welfare.
Existing members and supporters of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative include mining and metals companies such as Alcoa and Rio Tinto and high profile companies that use aluminium in their products from Apple to Audi, BMW, Coca Cola and Nespresso.
EGA is the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas. EGA’s aluminium is the biggest made-in-the-UAE export after oil and gas.
Abdulla Kalban, EGA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer said: “Aluminium touches the lives of almost everyone on earth, and the impacts of making aluminium do too. Being a member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative will enable us to share what we have learned about governance and environmental and social responsibility, as well improve our performance further.”
Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, said: “EGA is the largest aluminium producer in the Gulf, which has become an important global centre of aluminium production. We welcome EGA to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative and the work we are doing to develop sustainability standards and a certification program for the entire aluminium value chain.”
EGA’s biggest contribution to environmental sustainability is the continuous improvement over decades of its core industrial processes.
EGA’s research and technology development focuses on reducing the amount of energy required to produce each tonne of aluminium, curbing both costs and emissions.
EGA’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2016, including power generation and desalination, were less than eight tonnes CO2 equivalent per tonne of aluminium, the level set out in the under-discussion first version of the Performance Standard of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative for existing smelters to meet by 2030.
The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative was launched in 2012 and aims to foster the responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium. ASI members, including producers, users and stakeholders, are defining global standards for performance and sourcing through the value chain.
The ASI certification programme, which is planned to be launched by the end of 2017, will provide independent third party assurance that participating companies are correctly reporting how they meet the global standards. Members will have two years from the launch of the ASI program to achieve certification against applicable requirements for at least one facility.
About EGA:
Emirates Global Aluminium (“EGA”) is a jointly-held, equal-ownership company formed by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai by combining their respective aluminium industry interests. EGA’s core operating assets are Dubai Aluminium (“DUBAL”, also known as Jebel Ali Operations) and Emirates Aluminium (“EMAL”, also known as Al Taweelah Operations), whose combined production capacity of 2.4 million tonnes per annum (“tpa”) places EGA among the top five primary aluminium producers in the world, by volume. The UAE-based EGA also owns Guinea Alumina Corporation (“GAC”), a strategic bauxite mine and alumina refinery development project in West Africa; and is currently developing an alumina refinery in the UAE. In addition, EGA has plans for significant local growth and international expansion.
Jebel Ali Operations, where commissioning began in 1979, operates one of the world’s largest single-site primary aluminium smelters. The Jebel Ali Operations complex, built on a 4.75 square kilometre site in Jebel Ali, Dubai, comprises a 1.05 million tpa smelter, a 2,350 MW power station, a large carbon plant, extensive casting operations (more than 1.2 million tpa), a water desalination plant, dock and other facilities.
Al Taweelah Operations, where commissioning began at the end of 2009, is the world’s largest single-site primary aluminium smelter. The Al Taweelah Operations complex, housed on a 6 square kilometre site in Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi, comprises a 1.38 million tpa smelter, a 3,100 MW power station, a large carbon plant, extensive casting operations (more than 1.8 million tpa), a water desalination plant, dock and other facilities.
The EGA portfolio comprises high quality primary aluminium products in three main categories: high purity and foundry re-melt products (for electronics and aerospace and automotive applications respectively); rolled products (for packaging, lithographic sheets and the automotive industry); and billets for extrusion and forging (for construction, industrial, transportation and automotive purposes). Busbars and anode bars are also made for the electrolytic process used to produce primary aluminium from alumina ore. Over 300 customers are served in at least 60 countries, predominantly in Asia, Europe, the MENA region and the Americas.
© Press Release 2017
