The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) announced this week the ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) Certification with Provisional status of Mozal SA’s Maputo aluminium smelting plant in Mozambique, becoming the first such certification of an aluminium facility in sub-Saharan Africa.
Mozal’s Maputo aluminium smelter is located on the outskirts of the Mozambique capitol, and it is the first facility in the country certified under ASI’s standards. The plant, which is operated by South32, has a production capacity of better than half a million metric tons per annum.
Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer at ASI, hailed Mozal’s important accomplishment in a related press release.
“We congratulate Mozal on achieving ASI Performance Standard Certification with Provisional status at its Maputo smelting operation. The Mozal smelter opened in 2000 and is the largest industrial employer in the country. Its ASI Certification demonstrates the company’s commitment to pursue responsible production practices, and provides a platform and direction for continuous improvement.”
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. The certification was audited by TÜV Rheinland Cert GmbH.
Samuel Samo Gudo, Vice President Operations at Mozal, expressed his firm’s happiness at achieving ASI certification.
“We are pleased to receive certification from the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). ASI certification is an important step in supporting responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium across the value chain. This forms part of our strategy to deliver on international ESG performance standards.”
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.