The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), the leading certification organization for aluminum sustainability, signed an MOU with CRU Group, the global mining and metals business intelligence company. The goal of the agreement is to improve sustainability data integration in the primary aluminum industry.
“One tonne of metal looks much like another, but their impact on sustainability might be quite different,” said Lavan Mahadeva, research director at CRU Group. “We want our clients to benefit from a system that seamlessly integrates information CRU provides on asset-based emissions with metrics [for] ASI’s Performance and Chain of Custody Standards. The easier we make it for customers and investors to access and reconcile different types of sustainability information, the better will be their engagement with producers.”
Emissions Analysis Tool
With a focus on transparency, CRU launched its Emissions Analysis Tool earlier this year. The tool is designed to benchmark greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) along the value chain for metal, mining, and fertilizer commodities using a like-for-like assessment. Data in this service is calculated according to the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. It differs from the self-published emissions by asset owners in that it is completely standardized and comparable across assets.
“There are so many complex components and ways of aggregating data that, though highly accurate, the basis of reported emissions can differ significantly,” noted Mahadeva. “That has generated the need for like-for-like, plant-by-plant, and even process-by-process comparisons for greenhouse gas emissions that enable industry participants to more clearly plot their path to decarbonization, and evaluate peers and supply chain partners.”
With its focus on transparent and comparable asset level sustainability data, the Emissions Analysis Tool can be a powerful asset for the aluminum industry. Therefore, through the MOU, the ASI is collaborating with CRU to achieve a broader sharing of sustainability data, expertise, and analytical capacity. An update to the tool’s functionality enables its integration with the ASI’s Performance and Chain of Custody Standard certifications for bauxite, alumina, and aluminum smelting assets.
“Availability of comparable information on sustainability issues is a critical foundation for responsible sourcing,” noted Fiona Solomon, CEO at ASI. “CRU’s Emissions Analysis Tool enhances GHG emissions transparency, while ASI Certification provides recognizable assurance for responsible production and sourcing of aluminum across a broad set of topics. The integration of published information on ASI Certification status into the CRU tool at an asset level provides a wider picture of an entity’s sustainability efforts.”
Users of the updated tool can now access information on assets within ASI certified Entities (including links to published certificates), filter GHG benchmarking curves by certification status, and understand certification along specific supply chains (including the potential for Chain of Custody material flows now and in the future). New certifications and re-certifications will be added to the database regularly and the ASI will continue to co-operate with CRU as they refine their tool further.
“We anticipate this additional layer of data in the tool will increase stakeholders’ understanding of sustainability efforts in the primary aluminum industry, allow comparability across the sector and along supply chains, and clearly map improvements over time,” explained Solomon.