Nespresso will soon be the first company to use responsibly-sourced aluminium, supplied by Rio Tinto, to produce its coffee capsules.
On Monday the two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together with Nespresso’s capsule manufacturers to fulfil a commitment of sourcing 100 per cent sustainable aluminium by 2020, allowing customers to enjoy their coffee knowing it is packaged in a responsibly produced material.
In April this year Rio Tinto was the first company in the world to receive certification under the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), the highest internationally recognised standard for robust environmental, social and governance practices across the aluminium lifecycle of production, use and recycling.
The ASI Certified Aluminium is produced using a ‘chain of custody’, spanning the Gove bauxite mine in Australia, to its alumina refinery, smelters and casthouses in Quebec, Canada.
This chain of custody standard creates a traceability mechanism so that end-users (like Nespresso) are certain that the aluminium they buy has been manufactured by ASI-Certified producers at every stage of the process. The standard is the first of its kind for any industrial metal.
ASI Chief Executive Officer, Fiona Solomon, said that until now, there has never been a comprehensive global standard for its responsible sourcing and production.
“Now companies in the aluminium value chain who wish to demonstrate responsible practices can take the ASI standards forward to their customers, who can, in turn, be confident that this represents the highest environmental, social and governance standards,” she said.
Rio Tinto has plans to pioneer carbon free aluminium smelting through Elysis, a partnership with Alcoa supported by Apple and the governments of Canada and Quebec. The technology being developed by Elysis promises to eliminate all direct greenhouse gas emissions from the aluminium smelting process and replace them with oxygen.
Rio Tinto Aluminium Chief Executive, Alf Barrios, said the MOU is an important step towards the use of sourced aluminium across manufacturing industries.
“We expect the demand from consumers for sustainable products to continue growing and Nespresso drinkers can have confidence the aluminium we supply for their capsules meets the highest international standards,” Mr Barrios announced.