CRU: How ASI Certifications Impact the Aluminium Market

LONDON, July 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CRU attended the ASI Conference that took place in Norway in early June, and we have summarised some insights on how the certifications are likely to create a premium market for responsibly sourced aluminium.

Certifications overview: highest value is in the Chain of Custody certification

The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative is a non-profit organisation that aims to administer a third party certification program for the aluminium value chain. ASI members are classified in six groups, according to their business activities: Associations, Civil Society, Downstream Supporters, General Supporters, Industrial Users, and Production and Transformation.

The founding members of the ASI in 2012, were Nespresso, Rio Tinto Alcan, AMAG, Amcor Flexibles, Constantia Flexibles, Constellium and Tetra Pak. 

The ASI program is comprised by two certifications: Performance standard (PS) and Chain of Custody (CoC). Both standards are applicable to all stages of aluminium production and transformation, from bauxite mining to material conversion, including remelting of recycled scrap. It also covers criteria relevant to downstream users of aluminium.

All ASI members in "production and transformation" and "industrial users" categories are required to be certified against the Performance Standard for at least part of their operations within two years of joining ASI or two years of the launch of the ASI certification programme, whichever is later.

On the other hand, the ASI Chain of Custody standard is voluntary, and involves not only the company being certified but also the supply chain of aluminium from mining to transformation. It can therefore create differentiation in the market and can impact the value chain since the suppliers to a CoC certified product will also need to hold the same certification. We expect the commercial value for ASI certified aluminium to be captured in this step of certification.

The criteria covered by the certification covers eleven topics in Governance, Environment and Social aspects. Industrial users and Other manufacturing or sales of products containing aluminium are normally subject only to one of the eleven criteria which is named "material stewardship". Production and transformation members are subject to all eleven criteria.

Read the full story: https://www.crugroup.com/knowledge-and-insights/insights/2019/how-asi-certifications-impact-the-aluminium-market/

Read more about CRU: http://bit.ly/About_CRU 

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