TFP Bureau, Korba; March 27,2024: In a significant milestone for India’s aluminium industry, Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), a flagship unit of Vedanta Aluminium, has secured the coveted Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance Standard V3 Certification. This accolade, a first for an Indian company, recognizes BALCO’s commitment to sustainable practices in manufacturing and supplying primary aluminium products from its facility in Korba, Chhattisgarh.
BALCO’s production facility encompasses a smelter, casthouses, rolled product plant, and power generation plant, collectively enabling an annual capacity of 575,000 tonnes. The diverse product range includes aluminium wire rods, ingots, primary foundry alloys, and the innovative Restora line, India’s first low carbon aluminium range. These products serve critical roles across various sectors such as automobiles, infrastructure, and power projects.
The ASI Certification, developed through extensive stakeholder consultation, sets rigorous standards across environmental, social, and governance aspects of aluminium production. BALCO’s successful audit by CETIZION Verifica underscores its adherence to 11 principles and 62 criteria outlined in the ASI Performance Standard V3 (2022), which addresses crucial sustainability areas like biodiversity, circularity, and greenhouse gas emissions.
John Slaven, CEO of Vedanta Aluminium, lauded BALCO’s achievement, emphasizing its role as an industry benchmark in sustainable aluminium production. He highlighted BALCO’s continuous commitment to responsible practices and expressed enthusiasm for exploring innovative avenues to leverage aluminium’s potential for a sustainable future.
Dr. Fiona Solomon, CEO of Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, commended BALCO’s milestone, acknowledging its pivotal role in India’s aluminium landscape and the global industry at large. She emphasized the certification’s significance in BALCO’s sustainability journey and its adherence to diverse environmental, social, and governance criteria.
Under Vedanta Aluminium’s overarching vision, BALCO is part of a concerted effort to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050. With a focus on emission mitigation, carbon reduction technologies, and renewable energy adoption, Vedanta Aluminium aims to strike a balance between ecological imperatives and business goals. Notably, the company achieved a remarkable 28% reduction in greenhouse gas intensity in FY23 compared to a FY12 baseline, while significantly boosting production during the same period.
