ASI certifies Vedanta Aluminium for sustainable sourcing

Vedanta Aluminium operates the first smelter in India to obtain certification against the ASI Chain of Custody standard.

Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest aluminium manufacturer, has been successfully certified to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s Chain of Custody Standard V2 (2022). The company has obtained this certification for its smelter in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at its plant in Jharsuguda, Odisha. The company’s operations in Jharsuguda, which have an annual smelting capacity of 1.8 million metric tonnes, make it the world’s largest aluminium facility.

Vedanta Aluminium had already achieved ASI Performance Standard Certification for the manufacture and supply of primary aluminium products at its SEZ-based factory in Jharsuguda, as well as at BALCO, a Vedanta Aluminium operation in Korba, Chhattisgarh.

The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) is a global non-profit standards-setting and certification body dedicated to driving sector-wide reform in the aluminium business. ASI’s standards apply throughout the supply chain, from bauxite mining to downstream industries that use aluminium in their products, and are widely considered a reliable indicator of sustainable operations around the world.

A Chain of Custody (CoC) is a system that can be used to track the movement of materials and associated claims across a supply chain. The ASI CoC Standard V2 specifies the standards for establishing a chain of custody for items generated and processed along the value chain into various downstream industries. The execution of ASI’s CoC Standard connects verified procedures at various stages of the supply chain—certified under the ASI Performance Standard—to materials manufactured by ASI-certified entities. CETIZION Verifica conducted an independent, third-party audit before certifying Vedanta Aluminium’s smelter.

Sharing the significance of the certification, John Slaven, CEO, of Vedanta Aluminium, says, “We welcome the Chain of Custody Certification for our SEZ-based operations in Jharsuguda, the first in India to achieve this mark of operational excellence. Following the ASI Performance Standard Certifications for our plants in Jharsuguda and BALCO comes a significant reiteration of our commitment to undertaking responsible operations. At Vedanta Aluminium, we are focused on integrating and encouraging sustainable practices within every stage of the aluminium value chain and, through this effort, fully exploring the limitless potential of the ‘Metal of the Future’ in building a greener tomorrow.”

Dr. Fiona Solomon, CEO of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, says, “We congratulate Vedanta Limited (Aluminium Business) on achieving certification against ASI CoC Standard V2 at their Jharsuguda smelter. The certification demonstrates Vedanta’s efforts towards implementing responsible sourcing practices and is complementary to their Performance Standard (V2) Certification, which provides a pathway for continuous improvement of their sustainability performance.”

Vedanta Aluminium, which is leading the reform of the global aluminium industry, has committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050. It has implemented a two-pronged plan to achieve this goal: reduce its carbon footprint by improving operational excellence and increasing the proportion of renewables in its energy mix, while also offsetting its carbon footprint through substantial afforestation initiatives. Its products have also been certified as responsibly produced by the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD International).

For more information, visit: http://www.vedantaaluminium.com

76