Aluminium Stewardship Initiative unveils new global standard for aluminium sustainability

Setting the benchmark for responsibility and transparency

As an active member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), Nespresso is joining with other industry and civil society stakeholders in unveiling a new comprehensive global standard for aluminium sustainability. The new ASI Performance Standard sets criteria to drive responsible environmental & social performance, and business ethics across the entire aluminium value chain.

Thanks to its unique properties, aluminium is a widely used metal in the packaging, transport, construction and electrical sectors. Lightweight, durable and strong, it can be infinitely recycled and reused.

“As a company that relies on aluminium to protect the freshness and aromas of our highest quality coffees, we believe that this new credible and practical standard for sustainable aluminium will provide for greater transparency across the aluminium supply chain and will benefit consumers, companies and the environment,” said Jean-Marc Duvoisin, CEO of Nestlé Nespresso S.A.

Nespresso has been working since 2009 with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and other stakeholders to assess sustainability challenges, opportunities and needs surrounding the aluminium value chain. This led to the formation in 2012 of the ASI as a global, multi-stakeholder initiative.

The resulting ASI Performance Standard is conceived as both a tool for responsible aluminium sourcing and a collaborative framework to improve the overall sustainability performance of aluminium-containing products. It aims to minimize the environmental and social impact of the aluminium value chain. It will enable the aluminium industry to provide independent, credible and verifiable information regarding its environmental, social and governance performance. In the next years, ASI will be implemented through a third party certification system involving all industry players, making it possible to identify sustainable suppliers and materials throughout the supply chain.

As part of its 2020 sustainability ambition, announced last August, Nespresso pledged to source 100% of virgin aluminium capsule material compliant with the new ASI standard.

Other ASI members and end users including Audi, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Tetra Pak have also expressed their strong interest for sustainable aluminium. 

The ASI Performance Standard addresses issues surrounding the sustainable production of aluminium -- from raw bauxite mining to the producers of commercial and consumer goods -- and the recycling of pre- and post-consumer aluminium scrap. Its criteria focus on 11 key issues: business integrity; policy and management; transparency; material stewardship; greenhouse gas emissions; emissions effluents and waste; water stewardship; biodiversity conservation; human rights; labour rights; and occupational health and safety.

To develop this comprehensive standard, the ASI brought together 14 companies and 14 civil society organisations with expertise in aluminium. The comprehensive standard was developed over the course of a year including multiple rounds of public consultation, to integrate insights and suggestions from a wider shareholder circle.

“The agreement is a landmark achievement, which will deliver results all around, for nature, the mining sector, local communities, consumers and the aluminium industry itself,” said Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of IUCN, which facilitated the ASI standard setting process. “The ASI Standard is an important first step. Once implemented, it will help companies achieve greater efficiencies and transparency, while improving their social and environmental performance.”

Following a second phase of development and deliberation, in 2015 the ASI will announce its Chain of Custody Standard, which will focus on issues of traceability in the aluminium value chain and proofs of compliance with the ASI Standard.

Accelerating the sustainability potential of aluminium

The forward thinking, holistic approach of Nespresso to responsibly managed aluminium aligns with the company’s larger sustainability strategy, called The Positive Cup. Under this program announced in 2014, Nespresso set ambitious sustainability targets to meet by 2020 in the areas of coffee sourcing and social welfare; aluminium sourcing, use and disposal; and resilience to climate change.

Nespresso will also continue to expand its capacity to collect used aluminium capsules to 100% wherever it does business and increase recycling rates. Furthermore, the company aims to recycle its used capsules into new Nespresso capsules wherever this is environmentally sensible, such as in the UK, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria and Italy.

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