Irina Bakhtina, Chief Sustainability Officer and Member of the Executive Board at RUSAL, brings over 30 years of leadership experience spanning public and private sectors, from mass media and banking to FMCG, metallurgy and power. A recognised advocate for responsible business and sustainability, she has been instrumental in founding initiatives such as the Sustainable Business Lab at SKOLKOVO Moscow School of Management, the Green Brands League under the Russian Quality System (Roskachestvo) and the Commission on Business Ethics of the Russian Managers Association. She also chairs the Supervisory Board of the National ESG Alliance and serves on the Advisory Board of the UN Global Compact Network Russia, reinforcing her commitment to advancing sustainable development and ethical business practices globally.
In an interview for "Sustainability & Recycling: Aluminium's Dual Commitment" e-Magazine, Irina Bakhtina shared how the company is reducing its carbon footprint, advancing inert anode technology, promoting aluminium recycling and aligning its 2050 net-zero roadmap with global sustainability standards.
AL Circle: RUSAL’s low-carbon aluminium brand ALLOW has gained global attention. Could you share what makes ALLOW unique and how much carbon reduction it delivers compared to conventional aluminium?
Irina BAKHTINA: We launched ALLOW brand in 2017. The carbon footprint of this aluminium is verified annually by independent experts and is almost 5 times lower than that of the industry average primarily due to the use of hydropower for its smelting.
This year, experts from an independent international testing, inspection and certification company verified the carbon footprint of primary aluminium produced by RUSAL in 2024 and confirmed that the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) as per scopes 1 and 2 do not exceed 2.2 t CO2-eq. / t. According to the benchmarks of the leading international analytical agencies, such aluminium qualifies as lowcarbon.
At the same time, we reduced the carbon footprint of ALLOW aluminium by 3% compared to the year before. RUSAL has achieved this thanks to the consumption of renewable electricity from hydro power stations, further modernisation of aluminium smelters and gas treatment plants, as well as to the innovative technologies, such as the use of pre-baked and inert anodes.
One more important milestone of the last year reinforces the claims of environmentally friendly RUSAL aluminium. Experts of the Green Power Evaluation Center have certified Krasnoyarsk, Bratsk, and Irkutsk aluminium smelters under the Chinese Green Power Aluminium standard. RUSAL became the first international company to receive this certificate. This fact builds up the attractiveness our products for Chinese consumers and offers a chance to promote ‘green’ aluminium in the Chinese market.
AL Circle: How does RUSAL integrate sustainability practices across its entire value chain— from mining to smelting to finished products?
Irina BAKHTINA: For this purpose, RUSAL follows its own Business Partner Code and Responsible Sourcing Policy, which, as of 2023, have been complemented with the Supplier Sustainability Assessment that is being applied on a random basis for the existing pool of suppliers. Last year, 55 suppliers from across different product and raw material categories have gone through the assessment and proved strong to very strong levels of sustainability maturity. This assessment has become mandatory for any new suppliers willing to access our value chain.
It is also worth mentioning that almost two-third of our procurement (by value) comes from local suppliers. It means that we buy services and materials in regions where we operate. Such an approach helps to drive positive social and environmental impact for local communities based near our production and manufacturing facilities. Last year, RUSAL held its first Best Supplier Awards ceremony to praise those partners who do comply with our codes and policies and build up best practices in the area of occupational health, industrial safety, gender balance, climate and nature protection.
We also closely work with our direct customers, further aluminium processors and end-users, building the cases, when usage of low carbon aluminium help them to reach their sustainability goals and reinforce its market position.
To deep dive further into the interview, read here.
