Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) today announced that Vedanta Aluminium has been certified against the ASI Performance Standard at its smelter and its captive power plant located within the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Jharsuguda, Odisha, India. The company is the largest producer of primary aluminium in India.
The ASI Certification program was developed through an extensive multi-stakeholder consultation process and is the only comprehensive voluntary sustainability standard initiative for the aluminium value chain. The ASI Performance Standard V2 (2017) defines environmental, social and governance principles and criteria, with the aim to address sustainability issues in the aluminium value chain. It sets out 59 criteria under the three sustainability pillars of Environment, Social, and Governance, which address key issues such as biodiversity, labour rights, Indigenous Peoples rights, and greenhouse gas emissions.
The independent, third-party audits of Vedanta Aluminium’s SEZ Smelting facility was carried out by CETIZION Verifica.
Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer at ASI said, “We congratulate Vedanta Aluminium for achieving ASI Performance Standard (V2) Certification at its smelting facility in Jharsuguda, Odisha, India. The company is taking steps to decarbonise, including through increased renewable energy consumption, reclaiming aluminium from dross, and other plant-level initiatives. Its Performance Standard certification shows that Vedanta Aluminium is also addressing broader ESG topics.”
Speaking about Vedanta Aluminium’s Jharsuguda smelter being ASI certified, Mr Rahul Sharma, CEO, Vedanta Limited – Aluminium Business said, “Aluminium is a dynamic and rapidly evolving industry with potential for greater applications in a sustainability-conscious world. Aluminium’s unique properties make it a crucial metal in the world’s energy transition as the backbone of a low-carbon future. Vedanta Aluminium is pleased to join the ASI members list and be certified against the ASI Performance Standard. This stands testimony to our unwavering commitment to cater to our customers’ needs through sustainable and responsible production practices. Being one of the world’s leading aluminium producers, this bolsters our conviction for exploring the limitless potential of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.”
ASI Certification process
ASI was formed as a multi-stakeholder initiative to drive a global, sector-wide transformation for aluminium. We work on building capacity to understand, agree and deliver measurable and continual improvements in the global aluminium chain.
ASI’s Standards apply throughout the supply chain, from bauxite mining through to downstream sectors that use aluminium in their products. All current ASI members in the ‘Production and Transformation’ and ‘Industrial Users’ classes work towards their ASI certifications within two years of joining ASI. For more information, consult the full list of ASI Members as well as the list of certified ASI Members.
ASI’s custom-built online assurance platform, elementAL, underpins the entire certification workflow for both the ASI Performance Standard and Chain of Custody Standard. ASI members seeking Certification and ASI Accredited Auditors use elementAL to manage self-assessments, audit planning, documentation of evidence and findings from site audits, and reporting. The ASI Secretariat also carry out oversight of submitted audit reports through elementAL, to ensure conformity with ASI’s assurance procedures, before Certifications are issued.
Full ASI certification is valid for three years, usually with a surveillance audit at approximately 18 months. Provisional Certification is valid for 1 year, with a surveillance audit at approximately 6 months. More information is available in the ASI Assurance Manual.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta’s strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
