The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) announced last week the certification of Alcoa Corporation’s Poços de Caldas operations in Brazil, bringing Alcoa’s overall number of certified sites to 17.
The plant, which began operating in 1965, includes a bauxite mine, alumina refinery, and aluminium casthouse, each of which is now certified under ASI’s Performance Standard. Additionally, the Poços de Caldas site is Alcoa’s only production site for aluminium powder, which is utilized in a wide range of applications.
Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer at ASI, congratulated Alcoa on Poços de Caldas’s certification in a press release.
“ASI warmly congratulates Alcoa on achieving Performance Standard Certification at its Poços de Caldas operations. Sustainability is an ongoing journey that constantly challenges companies to improve and adapt. For example, at the Poços de Caldas site, Alcoa has started implementing press filtration technology for bauxite residue from alumina refining, to reduce water and land use and increase geotechnical stability of residue areas. The ASI Certification process seeks to encourage and acknowledge innovation and improvement across a wide range of sustainability issues for the aluminium value chain.”
ASI’s Performance Standard is the product of consultations with a multitude of stakeholders throughout the aluminium value chain, which ASI asserts is the sole comprehensive voluntary sustainability standard initiative in the aluminium sector. The standard defines 59 criteria categorized in three sustainability pillars that cover several issues, including biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples rights, and greenhouse gas emissions. Third-party audit of the certification was conducted by DNV Business Assurance Services UK Ltd.
Otavio Carvalheira, Alcoa’s President of Brazil and Vice President of Operations, said the certification was a step in the firm’s broader focus on sustainability.
“This certification marks an important milestone in our efforts to ensure that all of our Brazilian operations adhere to the highest sustainability standards. It demonstrates our commitment to our stakeholders that we always strive to operate safely, with protection of the environment and respect for people, and to produce products that will create a more sustainable future.”
The ASI is a worldwide organization dedicated to setting industrial standards and certifications in the aluminium industry. The association brings together the various stakeholders in the aluminium industry in order to achieve objectives including sustainable production methods, material chain-of-custody procedures, recycling, social impacts related to aluminium production, and production standards.