Sustainability

The Australian aluminium industry is committed to maintaining and developing a sustainable industry that benefits Australia.

The Australian Aluminium Council and its members are committed to the sustainable production of bauxite, alumina and aluminium. The sustainability data shows how our industry is using physical resources and reducing the impacts of that use, what we are producing, what happens to it and what are the by-products from our activities.

The Australian Aluminium Council is a member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), which works across the value chain collaboratively to foster responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium. Click for more information on ASI.

The Australian Aluminium Council is an active participant in the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). Through the IAI, the global aluminium industry aims to promote a wider understanding of its activities and demonstrate its responsibility in relation to all key sustainability issues – environmental, health, safety and recycling. The IAI website is an excellent resource for information on the global aluminium industry. Please follow this link to the publications section of the IAI website.

For more information, read our Strengthening Our Aluminium Industry Factsheet.

The Australian Aluminium Council has released five factsheets outlining Australia’s role in a global aluminium decarbonisation pathway; covering the bauxite, alumina, aluminium and electricity sectors.

Sustainability Data Tables 2000 to 2022

2022202120202015201020052000
Australian bauxite production (Mt)97.6897.9399.0883.3168.9162.6053.77
Bauxite exports volume (Mt)4040372298NR
Bauxite exports value ($m)1,1491,2851,3271,038205121NR
Area mined (ha)2,9222,4922,3913,2802,5101,5201,790
Area rehabilitated (ha)1,9061,8992,0751,8709608401,450
Employment – Direct Employees2,9552,8432,8302,4901,940960680
Employment – Contractors2,4902,114843730210400280
*NR - incomplete data or not recorded
2022202120202015201020052000
Australian metallurgical alumina production (Mt)20.321.021.020.320.220.215.7
Alumina exports volume (Mt)16.717.917.816.816.014.012.1
Alumina exports value ($m)8,7317,6456,3016,4575,1044,5534,142
Employment – Direct Employees5,6995,5095,4665,8106,9408,6106,510
Employment – Contractors3,5802,9772,8922,5102,9103,7602,160
Total GHG emissions from Australia's alumina refineries (Mt)14.014.614.914.614.913.413.5
Emissions intensity for alumina production (emissions/tonne)0.690.700.710.720.740.750.86
Total Direct Emissions (equiv. kt CO2)13,18013,74514,12213,70013,80012,50012,400
Total Indirect Emissions (equiv. kt CO2)8568747999801,0609201,040
Water consumption ML^104,880107,326114,14267,50050,80054,50043,000
Water consumption per tonne of alumina production kl^5.165.125.403.322.513.032.74
% of fresh water37413749786050
% of grey/other water63596351224050
^Definition for water calculations updated 2019

Energy Consumption

2022202120202015
Gas (Gj)146,044,122151,744,703149,667,679144,537,550
Diesel (Gj)1,265,876897,379795,535795,535
Fuel Oil (Gj)133,059175,356175,356113,860
Purchased Electricity (Gj)4,075,3764,306,5013,913,7124,350,394
Other eg. coal (Gj)61,195,67563,196,82366,791,00255,964,160
Total (Gj)212,714,107220,320,762220,320,762205,674,069
Energy consumption per tonne
Gas (Gj/tonne)7.27.27.17.1
Diesel (Gj/tonne)0.10.00.00.0
Fuel Oil (Gj/tonne)0.00.00.00.0
Purchased Electricity (Gj/tonne)0.20.20.20.2
Other eg. coal (Gj/tonne)3.03.03.22.7
Total (Gj/tonne)10.50.510.510.1
2022202120202015201020052000
Australian primary aluminium metal production (Mt)1.511.561.591.651.931.911.77
Aluminium exports volume (Mt)1.421.431.431.501.691.591.45
Aluminium imports value ($m)2,250.541,741.411,333.781,059.37957.47612.11451.34
Aluminium exports value ($m)5,762.954,823.943,632.003,750.006,220.004,030.003,910.00
Electricity consumption (Gwh)22,73722,61022,86024,07029,07028,59018,660
Electricity consumption per tonne of aluminium produced (MWh/tonne)15.0214.5114.4214.5915.0414.96NR
Water consumption (ML)1,930.661,8971,8321,9202,1601,8601,810
Water consumption per tonne of aluminium production (kl/tonne)1,275.591,21727,71429,34031,93037,96015,700
Spent Pot Lining SPL – recycled (tonne)49,70026,02924,67152,50039,40025,700NR
Employment – Direct Employees3,1132,9872,8742,8794,5403,3643,387
Employment – Contractors486499430633614696209
*NR - incomplete data or not recorded

Greenhouse gases:

2022202120202015201020052000
PFC total (Mt CO2-e)0.360.330.310.260.211.551.12
Total Direct incl. PFC (Mt CO2-e)3.033.053.072.913.364.633.93
Total Direct & Indirect (Mt CO2-e)16.2016.6717.0719.4526.6227.8027.13
PFC / tonne (t CO2-e/tonne)19.2319.7220.1422.3629.9832.4331.06
Direct / tonne incl. PFC (t CO2-e/tonne)0.240.210.190.160.110.810.63
Indirect / tonne (t CO2-e/tonne)10.7110.7010.7711.8013.7714.5515.32
Direct & Indirect / tonne (t CO2-e/tonne)12.7112.6612.7013.5615.5116.9717.54
2023
Production of HPA
Employment – Direct Employees73
Employment – Contractors13
20232022202120202019201820172016
Total production (t)71,55772,21575,80062,83359,22563,91869,72569,789
Employment - Direct Employees1,2661,3371,2951,2431,2481,3471,3811,332
Employment - Contractors117136184173164175173201

See the full Sustainability Data from 2023 in an Excel spreadsheet here. NB the data collection for alumina changed slightly in 2023, so some categories cannot be compared directly to earlier data.

See the full Sustainability Data 2000 to 2022 in an Excel spreadsheet here.