Alcoa -- Enhancing Product Value

Aluminum is the element of possibility.

It is lightweight, durable and infinitely recyclable. It is used to make airplanes, cars, trucks, buses, trains and buildings more energy-efficient, helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the life cycles of these products. It enables lighter, fully recyclable food and beverage packaging, thereby reducing waste.

In early 2020, we began selling bauxite, alumina and aluminum that is certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI).

Gränges is committed to reducing our climate impact from a life-cycle perspective, and thereby enhancing our sustainability performance. One of the key priorities in our climate strategy is to collaborate along the value chain and increase the sourcing and use of recycled aluminum and low-carbon primary aluminum since such materials significantly reduce our products’ carbon footprint. That is why the collaboration with Alcoa creates value.”
Sofia Hedevåg
Senior Vice President, Sustainability
Gränges

Bauxite

We are one of the world’s largest producers of bauxite ore, and we operate the world’s second largest bauxite mine—the Huntly mine in Australia. Because our high-quality and reliable bauxite is mined responsibly and reliably, it helps reduce supply chain risk for downstream users.

Bauxite

Alumina

We are the world’s leading producer of alumina outside of China and the world’s largest third-party supplier of alumina, which we produce from a portfolio of refineries that together have the lowest average intensity of carbon emissions in the industry.

In 2020, we introduced the industry’s first low-carbon, smelter-grade alumina brand as part of our Sustana™ line of environmentally friendly aluminum products. EcoSource™ alumina is produced with no more than 0.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO_2e) per metric ton of alumina, which is half the industry average of 1.2 metric tons of CO_2e.

Aluminum

EcoLum™ low-carbon aluminum, which is part of our Sustana product line, is produced with less than 4.0 metric tons of CO_2e for every metric ton of metal produced, including both direct and indirect emissions for bauxite mining, alumina refining, smelting and casting. This performance is approximately 3.5 times better than the industry average.

Another offering in the Sustana line is EcoDura™ high-quality aluminum, which is produced with at least 50 percent recycled metal. The product conserves significant amounts of energy and reduces the environmental impacts associated with producing virgin aluminum.

Aluminum

Recycling

Aluminum can be recycled infinitely without losing its properties, making it the sustainable choice in many of the markets we serve. Producing primary aluminum from recycled content consumes about 5 percent of the energy required to make virgin aluminum and avoids up to 95 percent of the energy-related emissions.

At our Poços de Caldas location, we have increased the amount of recycled scrap used in billet production by 200 percent since 2015. This has reduced the plant’s GHG emissions by approximately 30 percent.

Learn more in the full 2020 Alcoa Sustainability Report.