ABU DHABI, 17th August, 2023 (WAM) — Emirates Global Aluminium today announced that its Al Taweelah alumina refinery has been certified for its environmental, social and governance performance by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative.
All EGA operational assets around the world are now certified to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s Performance Standard V2 (2017).
The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative is a global, non-profit organisation that brings together aluminium producers, end-users, civil society, and the public through consultation, to determine what constitutes good sustainability performance in the aluminium sector.
Al Taweelah alumina refinery has amongst the lowest greenhouse gas emissions in the alumina refining industry, due to highly efficient processes and operations.
The responsible management of bauxite residue, a by-product from the refining process, has been a key priority for Al Taweelah alumina refinery since before its construction. EGA’s Research and Development team has made a global breakthrough in the re-use of bauxite residue as a manufactured soil, and is advancing further potential uses including in novel construction materials. Finding viable re-uses for bauxite residue has been a challenge for the alumina refining industry for more than a century.
More broadly, EGA was the first company in the world to make aluminium commercially using solar power. Generating the electricity required for aluminium smelting using fossil fuels accounts for more than half of the global aluminium industry’s CO2 emissions.
Abdulnasser bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, commented, “Aluminium has an essential role to play in the development of a more sustainable society, and it also matters how sustainably aluminium is made. Certification to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s Performance Standard is a transparent and independent verification of our commitment to sustainability, and I am proud all EGA’s operational assets are now certified. Our next goal is to start producing ASI-certified metal during next year, and to produce only ASI-certified metal by 2030.”
Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, said, “We warmly congratulate EGA on achieving Performance Standard certification at now all of its global operations. In 2019, EGA became the first company in the Middle East to achieve an Aluminium Stewardship Initiative Performance Standard certification, for its Al Taweelah smelter in the UAE. More recently, EGA’s subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation led the way by achieving the first certification of bauxite mining in Africa for their operations in Guinea, a country with globally important bauxite reserves and also one where the industry’s commitment to sustainability is tested.”