ASI certifies Baotou Aluminium Co., Ltd. against Performance Standard and Chain of Custody Standard
Baotou Aluminium Co. Ltd. and its subsidiary Inner Mongolia Huayun New Materials Co., Ltd. have achieved ASI Performance Standard V3 (2022) Certification and ASI Chain of Custody Certification V2 (2022) for their aluminium smelting and casting operations.
10 January 2024
Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) today announced that Baotou Aluminium Co. Ltd. has been certified against the ASI Performance Standard and the ASI Chain of Custody Standard for aluminium smelting and casthouse operations at Baotou Aluminium Co., Ltd, and Inner Mongolia Huayun New Material Co., Ltd, both located in Inner Mongolia, China. The company has a production capacity of 1.3 million tonnes of electrolytic Aluminium.
The ASI Certification program was developed through an extensive multi-stakeholder consultation process and is the only comprehensive voluntary sustainability standard initiative for the aluminium value chain. The ASI Performance Standard V3 and ASI CoC Standard V2 were launched in May 2022 following a multi-year revision process. The company’s main products are high purity aluminium, various aluminium alloys, aluminium liquid, and aluminium ingot, that are mainly used in aerospace, military industry, transportation, engineering and construction sectors.
The ASI Performance Standard defines 11 principles and 62 criteria under three sustainability pillars – Environment, Social, and Governance – with the aim to address pressing sustainability issues in the aluminium value chain, such as biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples rights, circularity, and greenhouse gas emissions. The ASI CoC Standard sets out requirements for the creation of a Chain of Custody for material that is produced and processed through the value chain into diverse downstream sectors. The implementation of ASI’s CoC Standard links verified practices at successive steps of the supply chain – certified under the ASI Performance Standard – to the products produced by ASI Certified Entities. The CoC Standard also confirms that appropriate policies and due diligence processes are in place to identify and address critical issues, such as corruption, human rights abuses, materials originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas in the supply chain and support responsible sourcing.
The independent, third-party audits were carried out by Bureau Veritas Certification. A full listing of audit findings outlining evidence of conformances and minor non-conformances is available in the summary audit reports, linked below. Twelve minor non-conformances were noted under Criteria 1.3a-e Code of Conduct, 2.1a-f Environmental, Social, and Governance Policy, 3.1a-b Sustainability Reporting, 3.2 Non-compliance and Liabilities, 4.1a Environmental Life Cycle Assessment, 5.1a-b Disclosure of GHG Emissions and Energy Use, 5.2b Aluminium Smelter GHG Emissions Intensity – In production up to and including 2020, 5.3a-e GHG Emissions Reduction Plans, 6.5a-c Waste Management and Reporting, 9.1a-d Human Rights Due Diligence, 9.7a-h Affected Populations and Organisations, and 11.1b-e Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Management System – Reviews and disclosure. Three minor non-conformances were identified during the Chain of Custody Certification audit under Criteria 1.5 Communications and Training, 8.8a Internal Overdraw (Not exceed 20%), and 10.3 Verification of Supplier’s ASI CoC Certification. Baotou Aluminium Co. Ltd. will be implementing a corrective action plan to address these non-conformances, the implementation of which will be verified in follow-up audits within the next 12 – 18 months.
“We congratulate Baotou Aluminium Co., Ltd. on achieving dual ASI Certification for these two smelting and casting facilities. Participating in voluntary sustainability certification initiatives can support companies to comply with responsible sourcing requirements of customers or commodities exchange platforms such as the London Metals Exchange (LME). ASI’s Performance Standard V3 (2022) is recognised to be aligned with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, and LME Brands for aluminium can use ASI Certification against the Performance Standard V3 to demonstrate compliance with the LME’s Responsible Sourcing requirements. In addition, the Performance Standard goes further than responsible sourcing to address a broad range of ESG criteria that also foster responsible production and stewardship of aluminium.”
– Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of ASI
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