Novelis Korea recognized for green management excellence

Novelis, based in Atlanta, in the United States, announced that it has been awarded the grand prize in the Green Management Excellence category of the 2015 Global Standard Management Awards, co-sponsored by the Korea Management Association (KMA) and the Korea Management Association Registration (KMAR).

Now in its 14th year, the Global Standard Management Awards recognize companies and organizations for their contribution to promoting sustainable development and enhancing global competitiveness in ten categories, including sustainable management, green management and energy management.

The KMAR surveyed 709 companies with more than KRW100 billion (equivalent to US$88.7 million) in domestic sales and more than 500 employees. Novelis Korea ranked highest in all criteria across the Green Management category—including planning and implementation of a strategic green management system and achievements in green management and management performance. Novelis Korea was recognized for its unwavering commitment to eco-friendly management practices, including the increased use of recycled content, expansion of recycling facilities and the reduction of pollution in the manufacturing process.

Novelis’ green business strategy is focused on the closed-loop recycling of aluminum. Recycling aluminum requires 95 percent less energy and avoids more than 90 percent of the greenhouse gases associated with manufacturing primary aluminum, Novelis says. In addition, as aluminum does not degrade or lose its value during the recycling process, it can be infinitely recycled.

In addition, Novelis globally has increased its average recycled content from just over 30 percent in 2011 to approximately 50 percent in 2015, the company says. Novelis Korea also has adopted green management practices such as pollution reduction and facility investment as part of efforts to achieve its environmental targets. As part of this effort, Novelis established Asia’s largest aluminum beverage can recycling center in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, in 2012. Since then, the Yeongju recycling center has recycled more than 30 billion aluminum beverage cans, Novelis says.

With ambitious goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent and waste to landfill to zero, Novelis has operated a systematic environmental management system, making investments in related facilities and raising awareness about the importance of recycling among—school children through various in-school and out-of-school programs for environmental and economic education, including the I Think I Can program and Novelis’ Green Biz Camp.