Circularity in Aluminium: A Pathway to Climate Mitigation and Resource Efficiency
ASI is advocating for a circular approach to the aluminium industry to reduce its carbon footprint and meet growing demand. ASI's Circularity Framework goes beyond recycling, focusing on rethinking product lifecycles, from design to disposal. By adopting strategies like refusing unnecessary materials, optimising production processes, and embracing responsible sourcing and end-of-life management, the industry can cut waste and decrease CO2 emissions.
Circularity offers significant benefits, including a potential 28% material use reduction through smarter design choices and design-for-disassembly. Transitioning to a circular economy could save millions of tonnes of aluminium and CO2 emissions annually by 2050. ASI's sustainability focus on Circularity centers on the need for industry stakeholders to move beyond traditional recycling and embrace comprehensive circularity measures, emphasising the transformative potential for sustainability. We invite our stakeholders to participate in upcoming webinars to learn more about the shift to a circular and more sustainable aluminium industry (more information below).
ASI Board and Standards Committee meetings – September 2023
In the last two weeks of September, the ASI Board and Standards Committee met in person in Germany and UK respectively. These multi-day, multi-stakeholder meetings provide an opportunity to review progress and plans for 2024 and beyond.
Themes across both meetings included assurance integrity, the next major standards revision cycle, digital projects, partnerships and collaborations and Indigenous Peoples Advisory Forum (IPAF) activities.
ISEAL Members’ Week – Linking data to performance measurement and claims
ASI recently participated in ISEAL Members' Week 2023 in Amsterdam, focusing on sustainability challenges and data-driven insights. ASI is evolving from basic data sharing to more comprehensive metrics, aligning with a shift towards performance and impact claims in sustainability standards, driven by upcoming EU regulations.
In response to the growing interest in performance data, ASI highlighted the importance of measuring and improving the impacts of voluntary standards. We are actively addressing challenges in communicating long-term outcomes and impacts, rebuilding our data platform, and incorporating more outcomes-based criteria in future standards revisions. ASI is also preparing for changes in sustainability claims driven by the EU Green Claims Directive and Empowering Consumer Directive, seeking stakeholder input for our updated Claims Guide in 2024 at claims@aluminium-stewardship.org.
ASI Director of Standards, Chris Bayliss gave a keynote at the UK Metals Expo in Birmingham this September. The keynote focused on the concrete steps that ASI is taking, along with its members, to drive positive, science-based and equitable change. In addition, thought provoking questions like the below were discussed and addressed:
How can a global industry – responsible for 2% of anthropogenic emissions today and essential for the Green Transition – transform both itself and the systems into which its products are directed within a defined (and limited) sectoral carbon budget by 2050.
With circularity as the second largest opportunity for emissions reduction of the aluminium sector, how can such systemic change be realised by the decisions of individual actors in the value chain?
What is the role of standards-setting and certification schemes, such as ASI, and how do we ensure that the required shift in production and consumption, driven by climate imperatives is a Just Transition and does not come at the expense of other environmental or social outcomes or the loss of fragile communities and livelihoods?
For the past six months the Climate Change Working Group has been developing a method that ASI Entities can use to define GHG Emissions Reduction Pathways, consistent with a 1.5°C warming scenario, for potential endorsement by the ASI Board in Q4 2023. Read the last update.
The latest draft is available from the Secretariat, so please get in touch if you would like to consult it to provide feedback on the draft method and the tool’s functionality. Contact Chris Bayliss for further information, to access the latest draft tool or to join the Climate Change Working Group.
Aluminium Insights wrap up
Earlier this month, architects, builders, and design professionals from across Australia came together for an enlightening series of presentations highlighting the sustainable advantages of aluminium in the built environment. The presentations were held in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, and featured the research findings of architect and aluminium sustainability expert, Professor Michael Stacey.
Attendees were given valuable insights into the pivotal role aluminium plays as a sustainable building material. In the Melbourne session CEO Fiona Solomon shed light on ASI's impact, our commitment to driving change through certifications. In the Perth session, Certifications Manager Natalie Sharp took the stage, reinforcing the importance of ASI's certification programs.
The lecture featured a deep dive into the extensive and successful history of aluminium in architectural applications. It emphasised the critical need for responsible aluminium stewardship as we collectively progress towards a future characterised by decarbonisation.
Register now: Fostering a low-carbon circular economy: Insights from top-down and bottom-up material flow accounting models
In this webinar, attendees will explore the potential for a low-carbon circular economy through the lens of material flow accounting (MFA) models applied to the aluminium cycle at different scales.
Using a top-down approach, the session analyses the increasing demand for automotive aluminium, considering trends like vehicle electrification and larger car preferences, and the subsequent challenges in curbing GHG emissions and waste. Simultaneously, a bottom-up approach is presented, focusing on an aluminium production plant, showcasing a nuanced carbon and material accounting method that promises enhanced robustness and cost-saving opportunities. This analysis, grounded in a real-world case study, aims to provide attendees with a deeper understanding of the intricate web of material flows and their potential impact on the industry's carbon footprint and circularity.
The session is designed to encourage a fruitful discussion on integrating these models to forge sustainable circular strategies within the aluminium industry.
Date: October 18, 2023 Time: 12:00 PM London • 1:00 PM Paris • 9 PM Melbourne
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. The most recent ones are linked below.
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ASI CERTIFICATION NEWS
In September, ASI Members achieved 10 new certifications, with several more in the announcement pipeline.
Hindalco Industries Ltd’s Kuppam Works has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification for its extrusions plant, located in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Consult the media release.
ALUMINERA EXTRUSION S.A. has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification for its extrusion facility located in Barcelona, Spain. Consult the media release.
TRIMET Aluminium SE has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certifications for production of liquid aluminium and sows at its TRIMET Aluminium Hamburg and Voerde facilities. Consult the media release.
Alcomet AD has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification for its production facilities located in Shumen, Bulgaria. Consult the media release.
Ningbo Tuopu Group Co., Ltd. has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification with Provisional status for its Light Alloy System 9th Unit, located in Ningbo, China. Consult the media release.
SC Vimetco Extrusion Srl has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification for the manufacturing of extruded aluminium profiles and shapes at its facility at Slatina, Romania. Consult the media release.
Constellium Muscle Shoals has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification for its facilities in Muscle Shoals Alabama, and Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA.Consult the media release.
Befesa Aluminio has achieved ASI Performance Standard V3 (2022) Certification for its aluminium recycling facility in Erandio, Vizcaya, Spain.Consult the media release.
Crown Holdings, Inc. has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification at its Crown Colombiana S.A. production facilities in Tocancipá, Colombia.Consult the media release.
In September, ASI welcomed four new Production & Transformation members, one new General Supporter member and one Industrial User member, bringing the total number of ASI members to 316.
Read more about our new members below, and for more information about ASI membership, please visit the Join ASI page on our website!
Nera (Smit Tanning B.V.)
Nera (Smit Tanning B.V.) is a subsidiary of Royal Smit & Zoon, a family company founded in 1821. Royal Smit & Zoon develops and produces sustainable chemical solutions for the leather industry and has grown into a worldwide renowned player. Our ambition is... Read more.
We highly value ASI’s efforts to drive responsible production, sourcing and stewardship in the global aluminium value chain. These efforts perfectly align with Royal Smit & Zoon’s and Nera’s mission. Producing Zeology based on ASI certified bauxite safeguards many aspects towards our long term ESG goals, creating a socially and environmentally sustainable leather value chain.
– Marc Smit, CEO – Royal Smit & Zoon
Find more information on Nera (Smit Tanning B.V.) on their ASI Member page in the General Supporters Class.
Foma S.p.A
Foma is a company operating in the automotive business. It was founded in 1956 as a molds producer and now it is a European leader in aluminium die-casting and machining with assembly. In the family tradition, we transform our castings into high-tech products satisfying all stakeholders, while...Read more.
Foma is a major aluminum HPDC supplier to the automotive industry. We work with aluminum and we would like to be one of the first Italian HPDC companies to be a member of this organization. We started to develop ESG years ago and now we think it is the right time to be officially audited against ASI’s certification standards.
– Federico Montini – Sales Director
Find more information on Foma S.p.A on their ASI Member page in the Industrial Users Class.
NIKKEI M.C. ALUMINUM (KUNSHAN) CO., LTD
Nikkei MC Aluminium (Kunshan) Co.,Ltd. is a secondary aluminium alloy manufacturer. We belong to the Nikkei MC Aluminium Group in Japan. We supply aluminium alloys to the die-casting and gravity-casting industries. We recycle aluminium scrap by melting them in reverberatory furnaces to produce various aluminium alloys. Our final product...Read more.
Through our participation in ASI, we would like to contribute to the production activities of environmentally friendly aluminium alloy ingots.
Automotive Precision Technology (APT), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Automotive Precision Technology (APT) of Al Ghurair Group is a well-established automotive manufacturing specialist with over 25 years of experience. Based in the United Arab Emirates, the company's core principles align with the regional spirit of growth, development, and value addition for a global customer base. APT specializes in...Read more.
Automotive Precision Technology (APT) becomes a member of ASI in a collective endeavour aimed at ensuring the responsible and ethical development of the automotive industry. A commitment to advancing technologies while prioritizing their safe and beneficial deployment for humanity. Joining ASI aligns perfectly with our mission, as it allows us to collaborate with like-minded organizations, researchers, and stakeholders who share our vision for the future. By becoming a member of ASI, APT reaffirms its dedication to driving conversations around ASI ethics, safety, and policy. We recognize the importance of fostering a global community that collectively addresses the challenges and opportunities posed by advanced ASI systems.
The precursor of CITIC DICASTAL CO., LTD (hereinafter referred to as CITIC Dicastal) is DICASTAL Wheel Manufacturing Co., Ltd and is the first aluminium manufacturer in China mainland which was invested in by CITIC Group in 1988. In October 2007, CITIC Dicastal had a shareholding system reform and in August 2012 changed its Company name to CITIC Dicastal...Read more.
Dicastal will join ASI to meet the requirements of the customers and to help with the development of sustainability for the industry, and in the meantime help build a better future for all.
– Wes Wang, Key Account Manager
Find more information on CITIC Dicastal Co.,Ltd. on their ASI Member page in the Production and Transformation Class.
HMT Höfer Metall Technik GmbH & Co. KG
HMT is a state-of-the-art, technologically qualified extrusion plant for aluminium profiles. It is part of the Höfer group. In accordance with our company philosophy "everything from one source", we offer not only precision profiles to customer specifications, but also problem-specific and customer-oriented product developments. Our own foundry producing daily up to 30 tons of aluminium billets in the vertical casting...Read more.
HMT Höfer Metall Technik, complete and underline the importance of holistic resource conservation and sustainability as part of your corporate policy with the ASI membership.
ASI Secretariat members regularly participate at events with in-person or virtual presentations. Additional details on dates, times, content and how to join the sessions are published on our events page as soon as they are available.
International Aerospace Environment Group (IEAG) - F2F Fall 2023, October 2-5, London. Fiona Solomon (CEO) & Chris Bayliss (Director of Standards) will be presenting at multiple sessions.
ALUMINIUM Business Summit 2023, 7-8 November, Düsseldorf. - Chris Bayliss (Director of Standards) will be presenting.
ASI recently participated in ISEAL Members' Week 2023 in Amsterdam, focusing on sustainability challenges and data-driven insights. ASI is evolving from basic data sharing to more comprehensive metrics, aligning with a shift towards performance and impact claims in sustainability standards, driven by upcoming EU regulations.
ASI Director of Standards, Chris Bayliss gave a keynote at the UK Metals Expo in Birmingham this September. The keynote focused on the concrete steps that ASI is taking, along with its members, to drive positive, science-based and equitable change. In addition, thought provoking questions like the below were discussed and addressed: 
Attendees were given valuable insights into the pivotal role aluminium plays as a sustainable building material. In the Melbourne session CEO Fiona Solomon shed light on ASI's impact, our commitment to driving change through certifications. In the Perth session, Certifications Manager Natalie Sharp took the stage, reinforcing the importance of ASI's certification programs. 
Hindalco Industries Ltd’s Kuppam Works has achieved ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification for its extrusions plant, located in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. 
Nera (Smit Tanning B.V.) is a subsidiary of Royal Smit & Zoon, a family company founded in 1821. Royal Smit & Zoon develops and produces sustainable chemical solutions for the leather industry and has grown into a worldwide renowned player. Our ambition is... 
Foma is a company operating in the automotive business. It was founded in 1956 as a molds producer and now it is a European leader in aluminium die-casting and machining with assembly. In the family tradition, we transform our castings into high-tech products satisfying all stakeholders, while
