Climate Week NYC hosts key aluminium industry leaders over discussions on decarbonisation and sustainability

Decarbonisation across the global aluminium value chain was a keynote at Climate Week NYC. To discuss the topic, industry leaders convened and highlighted the importance of technological innovation, responsible stewardship, and cross-sector collaboration. Amid these discussions, they also addressed regional disparities in recycling, energy access, and regulatory frameworks.

In a panel hosted by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), the executives pointed out that the leadership needs to encourage the peers to discover an economically viable transformation pathway for decarbonisation. Key points raised were opportunities for collaboration, shared challenges, and policy improvements to meet the sustainability goal.

The panel underscored that aluminium as a metal has immense potential to bring in a low-carbon future with its versatility and recyclability, but meeting climate transformation will require addressing carbon footprint challenges. The solution lies in collaboration, scientific policymaking, recycling awareness, and green manufacturing processes.

Marlen Bertram, Director of Scenarios & Forecasts at the IAI, said: “The aluminium industry has made strong progress, but to meet the growing demand for low-carbon materials, we must work together across the value chain and with our peers, not just our supply chains.”

At the event, many other key personalities from eminent aluminium companies made their presence, such as  Maria Alegre, Global Stakeholder Relations Director, Ball; Pierre Labat, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, Novelis; and Leandro Campos de Faria, Chief Sustainability Officer, Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio.

Through presentations and panel discussions, Hydro’s CEO Eivind Kallevik highlighted the need for investment in technology to support decarbonisation across the aluminium value chain; EGA’s CEO Abdulnasser Bin Kalban underlined the urgency to scale up sustainable production of aluminium; and Rio Tinto’s CEO Jakob Stausholm stressed on the need to integrate renewable power sources into production.