• Q. 1 When was EAA established and why?
• Q. 2 What are the main challenges the EAA and the European aluminium industry are facing today?
• Q. 3 What is the EAA’s vision and mission in terms of sustainability?
• Q. 4 How do aluminium applications and products help reduce carbon emissions?
• >> Q. 5 GHG emissions are a key indicator concerning environmental sustainability. How is the industry tackling the issue?
• Q. 6 What are the key drivers for emissions reduction?
• Q. 7 Why does your industry support a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) approach to products?
• Q. 8 Why is your industry favouring End of Life recycling vs. the recycled content concept as an indicator of recycling efficiency?
• Q. 9 How much energy is saved by aluminium recycling compared to primary production?
• Q. 10 If recycling saves more than 95% of energy when compared to the primary production; can it replace the primary production?
• Q. 11 More and more focus is set by policymakers on energy efficiency, eco-design, eco-labelling and Green Public Procurement. How is the aluminium industry positioning itself?
• Q. 12 Why is weight reduction one of the most efficient means to reduce CO2 emissions from vehicles?
• Q.13 Is it true that light cars are not as safe as heavier cars?
• Q. 14 Recycling rates for the automotive and building sectors are very high (95% and 92% respectively), while average aluminium packaging recycling rate stands at 55%.
• Q. 15 How to combine competitiveness and environmental “performance”? Beyond current activities, what do you see as future opportunities for fostering the industry’s sustainability?

GHG emissions are a key indicator concerning environmental sustainability. How is the industry tackling the issue?

One answer to this question lies in the use phase and the unique properties of our material (see previous Q). Further, the industry has significantly reduced GHG emissions from the production chain, particularly in the primary smelters, well ahead of the foreseen inclusion into the EU Emission Trading Scheme for CO2 (2013). Between 1997 and 2009 the indicator for this process registered a significant reduction of almost 50%. In addition the increased recycling rate also contributes to these achievements as the energy savings made possible by producing aluminium from recovered scrap are 95% compared to the primary production.