The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) and the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), a multi-stakeholder organization with the mission to foster responsible production, sourcing, and stewardship of aluminum, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate in their respective efforts to support continuous improvement in the performance of the global aluminum industry and the sustainable use and recycling of its products.
The five-year MOU, signed by Fiona Solomon, ASI chief executive officer, and Ron Knapp, IAI secretary general, brings the two organizations together to share measurement, reporting, and verification frameworks and selected industry data on greenhouse gas emissions, water and energy use, waste and risk management, among other issues.
“As demand continues to grow for lightweight, strong, safe and energy efficient aluminum products, customers in a number of markets are increasingly demanding certified assurances of those products’ sustainability claims, in addition to sector-wide performance data,” said Hilde Merete Aasheim, chair of the IAI and executive vice president of Norsk Hydro. “Today’s MOU between IAI and ASI will enable the development of globally applicable standards for measuring and verifying sustainability performance, including greenhouse gas emissions, along the supply chain, by drawing on the four decades of industry experience and data that the IAI and its members have amassed.”
Daniel Weston, ASI board chair and general council & CSV Global head for Nestlé Nespresso, said, “ASI aims to engage and work with all key stakeholders in this sector as it works to develop an independent third party certification program for the aluminum value chain. IAI has a strong history of data collection, research, and publications on key industry issues, and this MOU will benefit both organizations through a collaborative approach to the challenges of sustainability metrics. We are delighted to be working together.”
The collaboration is expected to enhance efficiencies for both organizations and their respective members by supporting common approaches where relevant, and pooling collective experience and knowledge. To realize these aims, the ASI and IAI executive teams agree to meet periodically and to report annually to their respective boards on the status of cooperation.