Vedanta Aluminium recognised as the world’s most sustainable aluminium producer by S&P Global CSA
29th January 2024
- It has ranked #1 on the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) 2023 for the aluminium industry
New Delhi; 29th January 2024: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, announces securing the top rank in the esteemed S&P Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) rankings for the aluminium industry, for the assessment period 2023. This definitive benchmark reiterates Vedanta Aluminium’s position as the world’s most sustainable aluminium producer, outperforming its global peers on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) practices.
The S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) is an annual evaluation of companies’ sustainability practices. It covers over 10,000 companies from around the world. The CSA focuses on sustainability criteria that are both industry-specific and financially material, and is considered the premier external sustainability assessment by leading companies. Previously, Vedanta Aluminium held the 2nd rank among aluminium industries globally as per the 2022 assessment. Over the past year, the company achieved a substantial increase across all assessed areas, namely, Environment, Social and Governance performance. This has culminated in an increase in its overall CSA assessment score, enabling the company to secure the top rank in 2023.
Leading companies across various industries undergo annual evaluations of their sustainability practices. Vedanta Aluminium scored high on the assessed criteria, especially on biodiversity, occupational health & safety, social impact, human rights, talent planning and water management practices.
Aluminium is playing an increasingly significant role in enabling sustainable applications and aiding entire economies in decarbonizing their value chains and enabling the global energy transition. Vedanta Aluminium has committed to achieve Net Zero by 2050, adopting a two-fold strategy of reducing and offsetting its carbon footprint. In terms of reduction, the company is focused on increasing the quantum of renewables in its energy mix, enhancing its manufacturing excellence to ensure higher operational efficiencies, and transitioning to low-carbon energy sources such as biofuels. To offset its residual carbon footprint, the company is also creating substantial carbon sinks through extensive afforestation efforts. Through its operations, the company is enabling wider global access to responsibly produced, high-quality aluminium to ensure a greener future for the planet.
Speaking on the achievement, Mr. John Slaven, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium said, “We have embarked on a transformative journey where our commitment to sustainability goes beyond business compliance to focusing on how we can make a positive impact on the environment. Securing the top rank in the S&P Global CSA recognizes our commitment to fully embed sustainability practices across every facet of our value chain, from sourcing to product delivery. We are prioritizing higher resource efficiencies, greater use of renewables in our energy mix, ’converting waste into wealth’ while also ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees and forging enduring partnerships with our communities for inclusive development. Through these efforts, Vedanta Aluminium is crafting a legacy of environmental stewardship, paving the way for a more sustainable future.”
An extensive deep-dive of the efforts that have contributed to the company ranking #1 on the CSA rankings for 2023 is available in the company’s Sustainable Development Report FY23, accessible on https://vedantaaluminium.com/sustainability/sustainability-report/
The key milestones achieved by the company in its journey towards sustainability are:
- Reducing GHG emissions intensity by ~8% in FY23 over the FY21 baseline while increasing production by ~16%
- Achieving a noteworthy 11% reduction in water withdrawal from freshwater sources
- Significant freshwater usage savings of 1.5 million cubic meters
- Doubling waste utilization to 200% in FY23, boosting circular economy avenues
- Collaborating on over 40 rural community water bodies restoration projects
- Inducting India’s largest fleet of electric forklifts, reducing carbon footprint arising from logistics
- Positively impacting over 6.3 lakh women and children through focused social interventions
- Increasing community investments by over 45% in FY23, to drive extensive initiatives in education, healthcare, livelihood, community infra, and grassroot art, culture & sports
- Diversifying employee hiring to include transgender and differently-abled professionals in core operations, making Vedanta Aluminium a truly inclusive workplace
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.29 million tonnes in FY23. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters and alumina refinery in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com
About Vedanta Aluminium Business:
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 core 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.
For more information, please log on to www.vedantaaluminium.com
Follow us on LinkedIN, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Disclaimer:
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “should” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
