Hydro expands sustainability certification

Norway-based aluminum producer Hydro says it has “virtually doubled” the number of extrusion sites it operates that have attained Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) certification. With 15 more production sites having achieved the certification, Hydro says it is nearing its goal of having all its aluminum extrusion operations in Europe certified to the ASI Performance Standard.

The Material Stewardship section of the ASI standard says companies seeking the standard must “take a life cycle perspective and promote resource efficiency, collection and recycling of aluminum within its operation, as well as within the value chain.”

Hydro says it now has 31 aluminum extrusion and fabrication facilities that are ASI certified. Of the 15 new sites, four are in France, four are in Spain, four are in the United Kingdom, two are in Poland and one is in Portugal.

“Many people have put a lot of work into this,” says Hydro Executive Vice President Egil Hogna. “I am very pleased, but we need to keep moving forward with ASI certification because we are seeing requirements that we didn’t see before. More customers want sustainable materials from certified suppliers.”

Hydro says its Extruded Solutions business unit is :the largest business area in Hydro, with 22,000 employees in 40 countries.” It makes aluminum components for several industry sectors, including automotive and mass transportation, building and construction, electronics and maritime industries.