EGA becomes the first GCC company to join Aluminium Stewardship Initiative

The UAE-based Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has become a member of Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, which brings the world’s leading mining and metals companies together, that sets global standards for governance, environmental and social responsibility. With this EGA has become the first Middle-East aluminium company to join the initiative.

Abdulla Kalban, EGA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer said, “Aluminium touches the lives of almost everyone on earth, and the impacts of making aluminium do too. Being a member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative will enable us to share what we have learned about governance and environmental and social responsibility, as well improve our performance further.”

EGA has spent $1 billion since 2010 in environmental technologies. The company aims at minimizing energy requirement to produce each tonne of aluminium, curbing both costs and emissions through its research and technology development facility.

Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, said: “We welcome EGA to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative and the work we are doing to develop sustainability standards and a certification program for the entire aluminium value chain.”

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Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s existing members are Alcoa and Rio Tinto and other companies that use aluminium in their products sustainably include Apple, Audi, BMW, Coca Cola and Nespresso.

In 2012, the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative was launched to focus on responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium. The ASI certification programme is expected to be launched by the end of 2017 that will offer independent third party assurance.

EGA’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2016 were less than eight tonnes CO2 equivalent per tonne of aluminium. This is the level set out in the under-discussion first version of the Performance Standard of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative for existing smelters to meet by 2030.