The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) is a global, multi-stakeholder, non-profit standards setting and certification organisation. It aims to recognise and foster the responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium. ASI is the result of producers, users and stakeholders in the aluminium value chain coming together with a commitment to maximising the contribution of aluminium to a sustainable society. Fiona Solomon, CEO of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative gives an insight into the ASI's plans and strategies post COVID- 19 in the below interview: 

AlCircle: What are your initial thoughts about the impact of Covid-19 on the global aluminium value chain? 

Fiona Solomon: As ASI runs a global Certification program; one of our key areas of focus has been on the impact of travel restrictions and social distancing policies on ASI audit processes. We quickly developed a policy on how ASI members and auditors could re-plan audit schedules and methods, including the possibility for remote auditing of some aspects of ASI Standards. In these initial weeks, we have been pleased that ASI members have been navigating through the challenges while staying engaged on sustainability issues.

AlCircle: What’s your current assessment of the Covid-19 impact on the World aluminium industry?

Fiona Solomon: It’s clear that the economic impacts generally are unprecedented in the post-war period.  Economic models lose value when core assumptions no longer hold.  It remains to be seen how the initial shocks and after-shocks will play out for the aluminium sector in particular, which is a critical raw material for a diverse range of use sectors.

AlCircle: How do you see the world economy driven by the global aluminium industry post COVID19?

Fiona Solomon: The very rapid and necessary shift in working arrangements under the pressure of the pandemic will open up new conversations about what will be the ‘new normal’ and where rebuilding efforts should focus.  I hope that global sustainability issues such as the decarbonisation challenge, human rights and the role that commodities like aluminium should play in a truly ‘sustainable development’ approach will receive even more attention.

AlCircle: How do you plan to keep offering sustainable services post this pandemic?

Fiona Solomon: The entire ASI team already work remotely from home offices, with effective web-based collaborations tools in place for our normal daily work.  We plan to make best use of the time freed up from travel by continuing to deliver on ASI's strategy this year, using our well-established web-based processes for collaboration, communications, training and assurance.  We have cancelled a number of in-person meetings and replaced these with web-based conferencing sessions.  Our policy for audits during the COVID-19 period the goal aims to set out ways for audits to cover what is possible to continue ASI's assurance model and support relevant timelines.

ASI's online assurance platform, elementAl, continues to be an effective way for ASI Members to continue to document their efforts on implementing ASI Standards. We also have tailored online training available through educationAl and are working to expand our offerings in the coming months to support ongoing learning.  And of course, we are delighted to continue to welcome new members to the ASI community.

AlCircle: Could you please brief us your post COVID19 business strategies, if any?

Fiona Solomon: Despite the impact of COVID-19, we plan to continue to progress ASI's mission with all the tools we have available to us.  We remain as committed as ever to delivering on our 2020 Strategy and enhancing sustainability outcomes in the global aluminium value chain.

AlCircle: Any suggestions you would like to offer to your business associates and customers to combat the present crisis.

Fiona Solomon: We hope you and your families can continue to find the resources they need to stay safe and well.  Even while we are physically distancing, it can still be a time to virtually connect and plan for a shared and sustainable future.