Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), the UAE’s largest industrial company outside oil and gas, has published its fourth annual sustainability report.
The report details EGA’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in the UAE and the Republic of Guinea in 2020. EGA had an outstanding safety performance in 2020, with no injuries leading to time off work.
Further, EGA’s Total Recordable Injury Frequency Ratio, a broader measure of workplace safety, improved by more than 23 percent in the UAE compared to 2019. In Guinea, TRIFR was almost 75 percent lower than the mining industry average.
EGA’s total greenhouse gas emissions climbed slightly in 2020, despite the fact that its greenhouse gas emissions intensity was more than 39 percent lower than the aluminum industry average. It was the first year of full operations at the Al Taweelah alumina refinery, and there were some unplanned and temporary outages due to electricity production and energy demand.
In 2020, EGA achieved significant progress towards its long-term goal of reducing carbon emissions, and in early 2021, EGA and the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) made the UAE the first country in the world to produce aluminum using solar power.
Abdulnasser bin Kalban CEO – EGA
“Aluminum has an essential role to play in the development of a more sustainable society, and it also matters how sustainably aluminum is made. At EGA, we aim to embed sustainability in everything we do. Our sustainability report details our successes and where we must do better. Last year was unlike any other, and I believe our shared global experience with COVID-19 has re-doubled our shared resolve to tackle other global challenges we face.”
EGA’s 2020 sustainability report also details the company’s response to COVID-19. By the end of 2020, almost 80,000 COVID-19 tests had been provided to employees and contractors. The report has been prepared and disclosed in line with the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and the Aluminum Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance Standards.
The ASI is a global coalition of aluminum producers, end-users and civil society stakeholders. EGA was the first regionally-headquartered company to join the ASI in 2017 and the first to achieve certification to its Performance Standards, for Al Taweelah in 2019. Earlier this year, EGA achieved ASI certification for its site in Jebel Ali.
