Empowering Indigenous Communities in Bauxite Mining Impacted Areas: ASI's Indigenous Peoples Advisory Forum is leading a series of capacity-building workshops on mining throughout bauxite exploration and mining regions in Australia and Guinea.
Latest trends in Drivers, Benefits and Challenges of ASI Certification
ASI has released an analysis of a member survey conducted to understand the key drivers, benefits, and challenges associated with ASI Certification. The report analyses responses from entities that achieved their first Certification or Re-certification and provided feedback between November 2021 and November 2022.
In late 2021, ASI began surveying ASI Certified Members to understand what they saw as the drivers, benefits and challenges associated with ASI Certification. This survey is now analysed on a yearly basis to monitor key trends and shifts over time. The latest set of data includes responses from Entities that achieved their first Certification or Re-certification and provided feedback between November 2021 and November 2022. There were 30 responses analysed, with a survey response rate for this period of 31%.
Key takeaways -- Drivers
The reasons for achieving Performance Standard Certification have stayed consistent since the previous analysis, and include:
Meeting customer expectations
Improve responsible business practices
Gain a competitive advantage
Demonstrate responsible business practices.
The most common drivers for achieving Chain of Custody Certification included:
Implementation of responsible sourcing
Meeting customer demand.
Key takeaways -- Benefits
Overall, the perceived value of ASI Certification has stayed strongly positive through the years, with 83% of all participants in the 2021-2022 cohort stating that Certification was positive for their business. Over half (55%) of respondents in the 2021-2022 cohort noted having seen changes or improvements to business practices as a result of the ASI Certification.
Find additional insights on Certification Challenges and ASI's responses and actions to the findings in the full article on the ASI website.
Bauxite Residue Management - Risks, Opportunities and ASI’s role
Bauxite residue is the aluminium sector’s largest waste stream by a long way, producing over 100 times as much, by mass, as the next largest waste stream, Spent Pot Lining. ASI’s Performance Standard includes criteria for the management of bauxite residue risks, and with around 25% of global alumina production from Entities with ASI Performance Standard certification, ASI seeks to ensure that companies are using good practice technologies in their operations.
The issues involved in Bauxite residue management are many and varied, with risks related to safe containment, high pH, dusting, land use, leachate treatment, security and monitoring all being relevant and with specificities per location. Ultimately, the aim (as per ASI’s Strategy) is circularity and the production of zero wastes from the alumina refining processes, but this is a long way off. In the meantime, appropriate management of this high volume material is both required and a condition of ASI certification.
For more details on current and developing approaches to bauxite residue management as well as ASI's role via the Performance Standard, consult the full article on the ASI website
Empowering Indigenous Communities in Bauxite Mining Impacted Areas: The Importance of Capacity Building for Free Prior and Informed Consent
Increasing siting of bauxite mining operations on the traditional lands of Indigenous peoples/local communities creates the need for capacity-building and Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes to empower these communities to participate in decision-making about mining projects on their land. ASI's Indigenous Peoples Advisory Forum (IPAF) is leading a series of capacity-building workshops on mining throughout bauxite exploration and mining regions in Australia and Guinea.
Globally, bauxite mining operations are increasingly sited on the traditional lands of Indigenous peoples/local communities, with most having a colonial history. For many Indigenous peoples and local communities, mining of their traditional land creates much concern about biocultural, community health and livelihood impacts from the loss of access to traditional lands and resources, and the ability to meet their cultural obligations. Despite decades of mining in some bauxite regions, their ability to effectively articulate and emphasise these concerns is constrained by an asymmetry of power and knowledge between communities vs companies and governments.
Effective Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes are critical in enabling Indigenous communities to participate in decision-making about mining projects on their land. Networks like IPAF are important in supporting the implementation of FPIC, mitigating conflict, and potential risks of mining activities. Capacity building models are needed, embedded within Indigenous communities and not tied to vested interests.
ASI and Indigenous Peoples Advisory Forum (IPAF) are focusing on practical outcomes to support Indigenous peoples and local communities in bauxite mining impacted areas. Capacity building, led by IPAF representatives and supported by ASI, is essential for supporting Indigenous-led approaches and practical exchanges between communities to address similar challenges. To date, over 20 workshops have been held with Indigenous peoples in local communities and homelands in northern Australia with more planned in western and eastern Australia over the next 12 months. In Guinea, an expert IPAF reference group has been established to provide workshop advice and guidance and includes local Guinea and other country based Indigenous experts.
For more insights into community perspectives on mining and the capacity-building workshops in Australia and Guinea, read the full article on the ASI website.
Abu Karim, CEO of Settle Ghana reflects on his experiences working in partnership with ASI and IPAF.
Building Capacity and Empowering Communities in Ghana: ASI and Settle Ghana's Partnership
This month, we feature a personal reflection by the CEO of Settle Ghana, Abu Karim, on his experiences working in partnership with ASI for over half a decade, and expressing his gratitude towards ASI for building his and his organisation’s capacity and helping it to positively impact the lives of thousands of indigenous people in Ghana.
In his very personal and insightful text, Abu recounts how he was invited to the IPAF (Indigenous Peoples Advisory Forum) meeting in India in 2019, and was tasked by ASI to make a documentary showcasing the work of Settle Ghana within the context of ASI activities. This led to Settle Ghana being invited to join ASI as the first Civil Society Organisation based in Africa, and Abu being elected to the ASI Standards Committee. Settle Ghana subsequently won sponsorship from the Alcoa Foundation, which enabled it to engage in capacity building of Indigenous People and local communities on FPIC (Free, Prior and Informed Consent), benefiting over 4000 people.
Read more about Abu Karim, CEO of Settle Ghana and his reflections on his experience working in partnership with ASI and IPAF in the full text on the ASI website.
IPAF member Protect Sápmi Foundation publishes manual for participatory cumulative impact assessment
The Protect Sápmi Foundation ("Protect"), which includes the Norwegian Sami people, has published a manual on cumulative impact assessment based on a method developed over several years in Norway's Sami reindeer herding districts. The manual aims to provide other Indigenous Peoples worldwide with a tool to identify and evaluate the potential impacts of multiple actions or projects in their own community contexts. This work was supported under ASI’s Indigenous Peoples Advisory Forum (IPAF) activities.
This manual for an Indigenous-led participatory and cumulative impact assessment on Indigenous cultural landscapes and traditional ecosystem services takes into account the combined effects of multiple past, present, and future actions or projects in a given area. It recognises that individually minor actions or projects can have a significant impact when considered in combination with other actions or projects. Cumulative impact assessments aim to identify and evaluate the potential impacts of such combinations and to develop strategies to manage or mitigate those impacts. However, there is still no internationally accepted definition or standard for how to perform a cumulative impact assessment, and Indigenous Peoples often lack a direct role in carrying out these assessments despite their unique traditional knowledge about the areas affected.
"Protect" aims to maintain and develop Sami cultural landscapes and promote Sami business interests while safeguarding Sami rightsholders’ interests, land, resource rights, and development opportunities. The foundation provides assistance to authorities and new business actors in their activities in Sami areas and participates in negotiations on behalf of Sami interests.
In 2022, "Protect" encountered a company certified against the ASI Standards in the context of a participatory cumulative impact assessment. The foundation had been using a working method of cumulative impact assessment based on a manual developed over several years in Norway's Sami reindeer herding districts. ASI and its Indigenous Peoples Advisory Forum (IPAF) saw the potential benefits of spreading knowledge about the foundation's cumulative impact assessment work to a wider audience, and proposed that "Protect" update its manual to reflect the current state of knowledge.
With support from ASI, "Protect" has recently reformulated and published the cumulative impact assessment Guidance Document also in English so that it can be used worldwide by other Indigenous Peoples in their own contexts. This new document is the result of the Protect Sápmi foundation's work and implementation experience.
ASI clarifies Standards language and updates its Standards Guidance in latest release
At its 5 April 2023 meeting, the ASI Board adopted as ASI By-Laws the updated ASI Performance Standard V3.1, ASI Chain of Custody Standard V2.1, Performance Standard Guidance V3.1, ASI Chain of Custody Standard Guidance V2.1, ASI Claims Guide V3, and ASI Glossary V1.1 documents. The updated documents are now available on the ASI website in the Document Centre. Translations will be added in due course.
The 2023 ASI Strategy articulates a commitment to carry out regular updates of ASI Guidance, within the overall five-year Standards Revision frequency described by the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards (at least every five years).
The ASI Standards Committee has undertaken to update ASI Guidance documents, in alignment with the ASI Standards Setting and Revision Procedure, at the following frequency, reflecting the rate of change of information therein:
• ASI Performance Standard Guidance
6 months (Q2 and Q4)
• ASI Chain of Custody Standard Guidance
Annually (Q2)
• ASI Assurance Manual
Annually (Q4)
• ASI Claims Guide
Annually (Q2)
• ASI Glossary
6 months (Q2 and Q4)
Changes to the ASI Standards
The ASI Standards Setting and Revision Procedure V4 (2022) also has a provision for Non-Substantive Changes to normative documents, which do not require public consultation. This provision is to allow for efficient editorial changes, correction of minor errors and for clarification, where intent is not changed.
The Standards Committee has therefore also taken the opportunity afforded by the ASI Guidance revision to make some editorial changes (erroneous capitalisation) to the Chain of Custody Standard and amendments to the Performance Standard, both of which have been adopted as ASI By-Laws by the Board.
Changes to the ASI Standards' Guidance documents
Beyond restructuring, rationalising and refining ASI Guidance texts, correcting editorial errors and improving linkage between the documents, content updates have also been undertaken. These changes are detailed in various information formats listed below.
In last month's newsletter, we featured an image of a community consultation in Guinea within the context of the Guinea Alumina Corporation SA (GAC) audit. This received some feedback from a reader, which we are pleased to respond to this month.
The feature image (below) showed a group of men discussing community issues related to the bauxite mining operations being carried out by GAC. The feedback we received was related to the apparent lack of consultation of female members of the community.
In this context, the culturally appropriate consultation required that women and men meet separately so they could each have a voice and an opportunity if they wanted to share gender-specific inputs. The consultation was held in the local language to help facilitate a free flowing discussion, and both consultation groupings were attended by ASI Secretariat members.
Don't hesitate to send questions or feedback on our articles. We're happy to respond!
Women were consulted separately, in parallel with the men in the Filima community in the context of the GAC audit, following a culturally-appropriate process.
As noted in the March newsletter: Dr Telli Diallo during consultation for the GAC audit at the community of Filima after they were resettled from the Daprass community
Last chance to register: CRU World Aluminium Conference 2023
The 28th World Aluminium Conference will take place on the 16-18 May 2023 at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London, organised by CRU and co-hosted by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) and the International Aluminium Institute (IAI).
The agenda integrates detailed presentations on decarbonisation strategies, disclosure and data transparency, sustainability-linked financing, investments and expansion, opportunities and threats in China’s development path as well as the impact of key policies such as the European Green Deal. ASI Secretariat members are participating in several sessions throughout the the first two days of the event:
Day 1 • Andrew Wood • Sustainability-linked financing for the aluminium sector
Day 2 • Fiona Solomon • Sustainability and its interconnections – exploring interrelationships between sustainability priorities. The panel will also feature three members from the ASI Board of Directors, Rosa Garcia Pinero, Pippa Howard and Gerald Rebitzer.
The third day will include two parallel workshop streams led by ASI: Stream 1 as a deeper dive on GHG accounting methodologies and their relevance to new criteria in the Performance Standard V3 (2022), and Stream 2 on Supply chain due diligence for the aluminium sector with a focus on ASI as a Track A Standard for LME’s Responsible Sourcing program:
Day 3 • Stream 1 • Chris Bayliss, Andrew Wood
Day 3 • Stream 2 • Fiona Solomon, Chinelo Etiaba, Cameron Jones, Camille Le Dornat
ASI's 45 minutes on... webinars covering a broad range of key issues related to our work program, often held in partnership with ASI members and top experts from leading organisations in their fields. If you missed one, you can watch the recording.
Aluminium Supply Chain Traceability with RMI (March 2023)
Human Rights Due Diligence and Responsible Sourcing: ASI Requirements and Beyond (January 2023)
Climate change adaptation: Community health risk, resilience and responses (January 2023)
ASI's Working Groups: An overview for Members (November 2022)
Critical Ecosystem Areas: Better biodiversity metrics for business with WCS (November 2022)
Grievance mechanisms: training for practitioners with BSR, RMI, The Copper Mark (October 2022)
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ASI CERTIFICATION NEWS
In April, ASI Members achieved six new certifications, with several more in the announcement pipeline.
Erbslöh Aluminium GmbH has achieved ASI Performance Standard V3 (2022) Certification for the production of extruded profiles and embossed sheets at its facilities located in Velbert and Hemer (Germany). The facilities’ key processes are billet casting, extrusion, heat treatment, mechanical processing, and anodising. Consult the media release.
Hindalco Industries Ltd has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification for its Taloja Works sheet rolling operation in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. This is Hindalco’s third ASI-certified rolling facility after its Mouda and Hirakud FRP rolling plants, which achieved Performance Standard Certification in February 2022 and December 2022 respectively. Consult the media release.
Oetinger Aluminium GmbH has achieved ASI Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard V2 (2022) Certification at its production facility at the Weißenhorn and Neu-Ulm production sites in Germany. This is the first certification for an Entity in Europe against the updated CoC Standard V2, which was launched in May 2022 following a multi-year revision process. Consult the media release.
Ball Aerosol Packaging has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) and Chain of Custody V1 (2017) Certification at nine global manufacturing facilities and two regional headquarters. Ball’s Aerosol division offers aluminium packaging solutions in the personal care, household and beverage packaging categories, including a range of impact extruded single and multi-use aluminum bottles, as well as aerosol containers. Consult the media release.
Vedanta Limited – Aluminium Business (Vedanta Aluminium) has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification at its SEZ Smelter for the manufacture and supply of all primary aluminium product in the form of billets, wire rod, primary foundry alloys (PFA), ingot and sow ingot, as well as its ‘Restora’ brand of low-carbon aluminium products. Consult the media release.
In April, ASI welcomed four new Production & Transformation members bringing the total number of ASI members to 292.
Read more about our new members below, and for more information about ASI membership, please visit the Join ASI page on our website!
European Metals Srl
European Metals is under the control of Dingsheng Aluminum industries.
The Company has a foundry with three furnaces and a continuous casting line, one breakdown mill, three mills to produce foil, three intermediate annealing ovens, four separators, 17 final annealing ovens plus... Read more.
We joined ASI to strengthen internal management, strengthen sustainable development and satisfy customer requests.
– Mr. Yonghui Shi, General Manager
Find more information on European Metals Srl on their ASI Member page in the Production & Transformation Class.
Jiangsu Dare Aluminum Industry Co.,Ltd
Jiangsu Dare Aluminum Industry Co.,Ltd was established in 1991. For more than 30 years, Dare has specialized in the development and production of single/double zero aluminium foil. Main products are battery foil, packing foil and capacitor foil.
Dare is a famous aluminium foil enterprise, and a national high-tech enterprise.... Read more.
Dare Alu recognizes and will be committed to promoting the responsible production, procurement and corporate compliance governance of aluminium foil products, and will contribute to the early realization of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.
We are a secondary aluminium alloy producer established in the UAE for the past 17 years. We produce secondary aluminum alloys for the Middle East, Asian and North American market. We source our scrap from the Middle East and North American market.
We are currently working with die-casters and primary smelters to achieve their net-zero goals by using 100% scrap feedstock in our aluminium alloys... Read more.
Our objective is to help primary smelters and downstream users in achieving net zero target with 100% scrap content aluminium alloys. We are working to be the first ASI Standard approved secondary aluminium alloy producer in the Middle East.
– Deol Adhithia, Marketing Manager
Find more information on ASHKHAR METALS FZE on their ASI Member page in the Production & Transformation Class.
ALUMINERA EXTRUSION SA
ALUMINERA EXTRUSION SA was born and started its activity during the second half of 2018 after the total acquisition of the facilities, as a United Production, of the old company, Exal SA (which had developed the manufacturing and distribution of aluminium profiles between 1986 up until the end of 2017), based in Granollers, (Barcelona).
Our company is specialised in the production of on demand profiles under the propriety of our clients with express delivery in Europe.... Read more.
Since the beginning, and mostly from 2019, we have focused our strategic mission and philosophy on being a sustainability driven organization. Working with raw materials such as aluminium provides us with the opportunity to determine our 3 goals for the future: an environmental management plan based on sustainability, energy efficiency and a circular economy; achieve climate neutrality by 2030 and have zero emissions by 2050.
Our focus is not only on sustainability. The environment, social actions and the rest of the ODDs are also in our main goals for the future.
– Pedro Jimenez Carmona President & CEO of Aluminera Extrusion S.A.
Find more information on ALUMINERA EXTRUSION SA on their ASI Member page in the Production & Transformation Class.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Upcoming ASI Secretariat event participation
ASI Secretariat members regularly participate at events with virtual or in-person presentations. Additional details on dates, times, content and how to join the sessions will be published on our events page when they become available.
Increasing siting of bauxite mining operations on the traditional lands of Indigenous peoples/local communities creates the need for capacity-building and Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes to empower these communities to participate in decision-making about mining projects on their land. ASI's Indigenous Peoples Advisory Forum (IPAF) is leading a series of capacity-building workshops on mining throughout bauxite exploration and mining regions in Australia and Guinea. 
activities in Sami areas and participates in negotiations on behalf of Sami interests.
Erbslöh Aluminium GmbH has achieved ASI Performance Standard V3 (2022) Certification for the production of extruded profiles and embossed sheets at its facilities located in Velbert and Hemer (Germany). The facilities’ key processes are billet casting, extrusion, heat treatment, mechanical processing, and anodising. 
Oetinger Aluminium GmbH has achieved ASI Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard V2 (2022) Certification at its production facility at the Weißenhorn and Neu-Ulm production sites in Germany. This is the first certification for an Entity in Europe against the updated CoC Standard V2, which was launched in May 2022 following a multi-year revision process. 
Jiangsu Dare Aluminum Industry Co.,Ltd was established in 1991. For more than 30 years, Dare has specialized in the development and production of single/double zero aluminium foil. Main products are battery foil, packing foil and capacitor foil. 
We are a secondary aluminium alloy producer established in the UAE for the past 17 years. We produce secondary aluminum alloys for the Middle East, Asian and North American market. We source our scrap from the Middle East and North American market.
ALUMINERA EXTRUSION SA was born and started its activity during the second half of 2018 after the total acquisition of the facilities, as a United Production, of the old company, Exal SA (which had developed the manufacturing and distribution of aluminium profiles between 1986 up until the end of 2017), based in Granollers, (Barcelona).
