EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery receives ASI certification for ESG performance

Emirates Global Aluminium announced that its Al Taweelah alumina refinery received Aluminium Stewardship Initiative certification for its environmental, social and governance performance. With this, EGA's all operational assets around the world are certified to the ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) certification.

Al Taweelah alumina refinery has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions in the global alumina refining industry due to its efficient production process and operation.

Al Taweelah refinery is always committed to responsibly carrying out bauxite residue management. EGA's Research & Development team innovated viable ways to re-utilise bauxite residue which has always been a challenge for the alumina refining industry for over a century. The company found a revolutionary way of re-using bauxite residue as manufactured soil and advanced further potential uses of the by-product in novel construction materials.

EGA was also the first company in the world to make aluminium plants commercially using solar power. 

On receiving the ASI certification for the Al Taweelah refinery, Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: "Aluminium has an essential role to play in the development of a more sustainable society, and it also matters how sustainably aluminium is made. Certification to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative's Performance Standard is a transparent and independent verification of our commitment to sustainability, and I am proud all EGA's operational assets are now certified. Our next goal is to start producing ASI-certified metal during next year, and to produce only ASI-certified metal by 2030."

Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, said: "We warmly congratulate EGA on achieving Performance Standard certification at now all of its global operations. In 2019, EGA became the first company in the Middle East to achieve an Aluminium Stewardship Initiative Performance Standard certification, for its Al Taweelah smelter in the UAE. More recently, EGA's subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation led the way by achieving the first certification of bauxite mining in Africa for their operations in Guinea, a country with globally important bauxite reserves and also one where the industry's commitment to sustainability is tested. EGA's pursuit of certifying all its global operations underscores the relevance and applicability of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative Performance Standard in diverse operational landscapes and reinforces the Standard's role in fostering responsible practices throughout the entire aluminium value chain."

EGA was the first Middle East company to join the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative in 2017. EGA's Al Taweelah refinery first received the ASI Performance Standard certification in 2019, and EGA's Jebel Ali was first certified in 2021.