Rio rejoices over achieving Chain of Custody Certification from Aluminium Stewardship Initiative

Another feather of glory adds to the hat of Rio Tinto as it stands as the first company in the entire aluminium value chain to receive the Chain of Custody Certification from Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). This means Rio is now the only officially qualified company to sell aluminium with certification of assurance for highest environmental, social, and governance standards.

Besides, this certification takes Rio a step ahead in commitment to responsible mining and metals production as the company to provide independent verification to customers that would allow them to trace the material through a ‘chain of custody’ spanning Rio Tinto’s Gove bauxite mine in Australia, its alumina refinery, aluminium smelters and casthouses in Quebec, Canada.

Rio chief executive Alf Barrios said, "Achieving this certification demonstrates Rio Tinto's commitment to the highest international production standards and offers customers the ability to provide end consumers with the confidence that the aluminium in their products has been responsibly produced.”

Rio Tinto Aluminium vice president sales and marketing Tolga Egrilmezer, who is also a member of ASI Board said, "We see certified sustainable aluminium as a point of differentiation for Rio Tinto as customers become increasingly interested in ensuring that metals have been responsibly produced. The ASI certification will enable us to generate value for Rio Tinto and our customers because we believe there will be a fundamental shift in demand for these products."

ASI chief executive officer Fiona Solomon also applauded this achievement of Rio and said this shows the company’s potentiality. He expects this benchmark to be followed by all other upstream producers and should extend into downstream aluminium use sectors like automotive, construction, and packaging.