Vedanta
Aluminium operates the first smelter in India to attain Certification against
the ASI Chain of Custody standard
Vedanta Aluminium, India’s
largest producer of aluminium, today announced that it has been successfully
certified against the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s Chain of Custody
Standard V2 (2022). The company has achieved this certification for its smelter
in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at its plant in Jharsuguda, Odisha. The
company’s operations in Jharsuguda, comprising of an annual smelting capacity
of 1.8 million tonnes, make it the world’s largest aluminium plant.
Vedanta Aluminium has also
previously achieved the ASI Performance Standard Certification for the
manufacture and supply of primary aluminium products at its SEZ-based plant at
Jharsuguda, and also at BALCO, a unit of Vedanta Aluminium based in Korba,
Chhattisgarh.
The Aluminium Stewardship
Initiative (ASI) is a global non-profit standards setting and certification
organisation that seeks to drive a sector-wide transformation within the
aluminium industry. ASI’s Standards apply throughout the supply chain, from
bauxite mining to downstream sectors that use aluminium in their products, and
are a highly-regarded indicator of sustainable operations worldwide.
A Chain of Custody (CoC) is
a system that can be used to support the traceability of materials and
associated claims through a supply chain. The ASI CoC Standard V2 sets out
requirements for the creation of a Chain of Custody for material that is
produced and processed through the value chain into diverse downstream sectors.
The implementation of ASI’s CoC Standard links verified practices at successive
steps of the supply chain – certified under the ASI Performance Standard – to
the materials produced by ASI Certified Entities. The independent, third-party
audit ahead of the certification of Vedanta Aluminium’s smelter was carried out
by CETIZION Verifica.
Sharing the significance of
the certification, Mr. John Slaven, CEO,
Vedanta Aluminium, said, “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 on the ASI Performance Standard
Certifications for our plants in Jharsuguda and BALCO, it comes as 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 explore the limitless potential of the ‘Metal of the
Future’ in building a greener tomorrow.”
Dr.
Fiona Solomon, CEO, Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, said,
"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.”
Leading the transformation
of the global aluminium industry, Vedanta Aluminium has committed to achieving
Net Zero by 2050. It has rolled out a two-fold strategy towards this goal,
reducing its carbon footprint by increasing operational excellence and
increasing the quantum of renewables in its energy mix, while also offsetting
its carbon footprint through extensive afforestation efforts. Its products have
also been verified as sustainably produced by Environmental Product Declaration
(EPD) International.
Vedanta Aluminium, a
business of Vedanta Limited, is India's largest producer of aluminium,
manufacturing more than half of India's aluminium i.e., 2.37 million tonnes in
FY24. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical
applications in key industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P
Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the
aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development
practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power
plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging
applications of aluminium as the 'Metal of the Future' for a greener tomorrow. www.vedantaaluminium.com
