Aluminium and climate protection

Climate protection is the central issue in the field of ecology. Aluminium has many convincing basic properties that help to reduce CO2 emissions along the entire value chain and in the product life cycle.

  • Worldwide, 75% of the aluminium ever produced is still in use today. The recycling rate for most applications is over 90%. Aluminium recycling saves up to 95% energy compared to the production of primary aluminium.
  • The energy source plays a decisive role in the production of aluminium and its end products. For example, if the electricity required for electrolysis is generated using coal-fired power – as is the case in China, for example – the production of 1 kg of aluminium generates around 20 kg of greenhouse gas emissions. We obtain the aluminium in the form of extrusion billets from Europe.
  • With current production and electricity generation methods, primary aluminium produced in Europe has an average greenhouse gas emission of 6.7 kg CO2 equivalent per kg of aluminium. If renewable energies are used – as is the case in most plants in Europe – the figure is as low as 4.3 kg CO2. This puts the European aluminium industry in a good position in a global comparison, as the CO2 footprint of aluminium from other regions of the world is significantly bigger in some cases. (For comparison: China, the world’s largest producer of primary aluminium with a share of 60%, uses over 80% coal-fired electricity for aluminium production.1)
  • In aluminium recycling, the emission of CO2 equivalents is still only 0.5 kg.

Despite these encouraging figures, more can and must be done to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, as further processing into pressed and cast products also requires a lot of energy.



1)  Source: Website of Aluminium Verband Schweiz/Nachhaltigkeit. Alu.ch 27.5.2024

CO2 equivalent: from raw material to end product

 
Source: European Aluminium – A strategy for achieving aluminium’s full potential for circular economy by 2030 / Aluminium-Verband Schweiz

Focus areas for sustainable development

 
Procurement – source material and supply chainrkette
At least 75% of the extrusion billets we use were produced in Europe using renewable energy, mainly hydropower and thermal energy. As a result, we achieve an average CO2 value of less than 5 kg CO2 equivalent per kg of aluminium. This is significantly less than the global average of 7 to 7.5 kg CO2 equivalent per kg of aluminium.

When evaluating and collaborating with our suppliers, we require compliance with our Code of Conduct for Suppliers. This code requires, among others, that suppliers endeavour to minimise the negative environmental impact of their activities, products and services through their own initiative and responsible corporate governance. We reserve the right to carry out an on-site inspection to verify compliance with the regulations.

Some points from the Code of Conduct for Suppliers on environmental protection:
  • The obligation to avoid waste
  • Improving energy efficiency
  • Minimisation and safe storage of hazardous substances
  • Use of environmentally friendly technologies
Our raw material suppliers observe the guidelines of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI).
Energy – solar energy and energy-saving measures
We produce around 1.9 gigawatt hours per year with our 8,740 m2 solar installation. This corresponds to the electricity requirements of around 550 single-family homes with three people each. We use the solar energy generated for our own needs.

In addition, we regularly invest in energy-saving measures and optimise our work processes to save energy. Extract from measures already implemented and planned investments:
  • System optimisation for billet heating to save electricity
  • Reducing electricity consumption by improving the efficiency of the fan drives
  • Changeover to LED lighting in production
  • Changeover of the transformer power supply in the extrusion plant
  • Reduction in gas consumption by replacing cold air burners with recuperative burners
  • Heat recovery at the compressor station
  • Shorter door opening times at the ovens
  • Electromagnetic agitator for improved heat transfer
  • Reduction in diesel consumption through regular replacement of old vehicles

Energy audits are carried out at regular intervals to review and evaluate the implementation of the measures. New recommendations are derived from this and further optimisations are introduced.

And by consistently recovering heat from production, the heating systems in the administration building can be supplied in winter.
Alloys – “green” alloys are increasingly being used
Alloys with a high recycling rate from process and recycling scrap or with post-consumer scrap as well as primary aluminium alloys with a reduced CO2 footprint are a further contribution to sustainability.

We currently offer our customers three “green” alloys:
  • EN AW-6060 GreenLow GL: Alloy made from particularly CO2-reduced and recycled aluminium with a minimum of 85 % post-consumer scrap and a CO2-footprint of a maximum of 1.23 kg CO2 equivalent per kg of aluminium.
  • EN AW-6060 Low Carbon LC: Alloys made from primary aluminium with a reduced CO2 footprint of 3.8 kg CO2 equivalent per kg of aluminium.
  • EN AW-6060 Green: Alloys with a guaranteed recycled content of at least 70% process and recycling scrap.
The demand for these three alloys is fortunately rising steadily, as sustainability criteria are also playing an increasingly decisive role in procurement for our customers.
Transport – saving transport routes through in-house services
We offer our customers a wide range of services. With these in-house services, we avoid additional transport routes and thus actively contribute to reducing our CO2 emissions.

Mould making on site     
We manufacture the moulds and extrusion dies required for both our foundry and extrusion plant here in Liesberg, which is not a matter of common practice in our industry.

Mechanical processing ex works
Thanks to a versatile, partially fully automated machine park, we offer a wide range of services for mechanical processing: Sawing, punching, drilling, milling, turning, barrel finishing and roll bending, to name just some of them.

Our own on-site remelting plant
We produce extrusion billets in various alloys for different extrusion profiles in our remelting plant for over 20 years. We use unavoidable process waste from profile production – press residues and shavings. This avoids transport routes with process scrap.

Transport by ship and rail
Our billets are consistently delivered by ship and rail.
Recycling – our own recycling centre
Aluminium is 100% recyclable. All material properties are retained during recycling. Compared to the production of primary aluminium, the energy required for recycling is only 5%.

Since 2002, unavoidable process scrap from profile production, press residue, swarf and customer waste has been processed into valuable raw materials for the extrusion lines in our in-house recycling centre. In this way, we avoid additional transport routes and further environmental pollution.

In our mould foundry, the process scrap is melted down again directly and used as the starting material for new cast components.
Certified (environmental) management and relevance assessment
Since the early 2000s, we have been committed to using natural resources as sparingly as possible and have thus set new standards in the industry.
  • As a member of the Energy Agency for Industry (EnAW), we have been committed to continuously reducing our electricity consumption and CO2 emissions since 2002. Thanks to our commitment, we regularly exceed the target agreement with the federal government and make a significant contribution to achieving the goals of the entire industry.
  • Our environmental management system is certified in accordance with ISO 14001:2015 and documents compliance with environmental management requirements.
  • Our business processes meet the requirements of the automotive supply industry. Accordingly, we are certified in accordance with ISO/TS 16949 and ISO 9001.
  • We are certified to EN 15088 specifically for the construction industry.
  • Our aluminium components comply with the EU directives RoHS, REACH and the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive.
  • For packaging, we use containers made of cardboard, paper, untreated wood and reusable metal frames. Plastic film is only used on special customer request.
Sustainability is an important issue for us
Aluminium is a material that can be recycled endlessly without any loss of quality. Since 2002, we have been melting down unavoidable process scrap on site in our own recycling centre. Process scrap from customers is also recycled. In addition, we take measures along the entire value chain to further reduce the ecological impact of the casting process and extrusion production.

Sustainability is also important to us in procurement. We collaborate with long-standing suppliers who are selected according to various performance factors. This benefits our customers in particular, as they can rely on sustainable supply chains even in challenging times. In addition, production close to our customers saves many transport routes.

Michael Späth, General Sales Manager, Member of the Executive Board
 

Contact

Aluminium Laufen AG Liesberg
Industriestrasse 5, CH-4253 Liesberg
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