Sustainability
The Council and our members are committed to leading the sustainable production of bauxite, alumina and aluminium across this nationally significant industry.
The Australian Aluminium Council is a member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), the organisation setting global standards for the responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium. ASI’s independently audited certifications also assure customers that the aluminium they purchase has been produced to the highest environmental, social and governance standards, ranging from greenhouse gas emissions to human rights.
As an active participant in the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), the Council aims to grow awareness and demonstrate responsibility in relation to key sustainability focuses including environmental, health, safety and recycling.
The Council is a member of the Australian Climate Roundtable – an alliance that works to achieve effective, long-term policy on climate change and emissions reduction.
Australia has some of the lowest alumina emissions in the world, contributes about 2.7% of global aluminium industry emissions and leads the development of low carbon refining technologies.
For more information, see our factsheets and resources.
Sustainability Data Tables 2023 onwards
Bauxite Mining
Alumina Refining
Aluminium Smelting
High Purity Alumina production
Aluminium Products
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
| Australian bauxite production (Mt) | 100.97 | 100.20 | 98.64 |
| Bauxite exports volume (Mt) | 44.23 | 42.60 | 41.23 |
| Bauxite exports value ($m) | 3,574.82 | 2,498.45 | 1,689.61 |
| Area mined (ha) | 1,686 | 3,261 | 2,696 |
| Area rehabilitated (ha) | 2,171 | 2,703 | 1,736 |
| Employment – Direct Employees | 3,401 | 3,279 | 3,179 |
| Employment – Contractors | 2,264 | 2,266 | 2,150 |
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
| Australian metallurgical alumina production (Mt) | 17.42 | 17.54 | 19.05 |
| Alumina exports volume (Mt) | 14.66 | 14.73 | 15.91 |
| Alumina exports value ($m) | 9,604 | 10,382 | 8,178 |
| Employment – Direct Employees | 4,548 | 4,798 | 5,663 |
| Employment – Contractors | 5,251 | 2,704 | 3,418 |
| Total GHG emissions from Australia's alumina refineries (Mt) | 12.59 | 13.11 | 14.76 |
| Emissions intensity for alumina production (emissions/tonne) | 0.72 | 0.75 | 0.77 |
| Total Direct Emissions (equiv. kt CO₂) | 11,257 | 11,823 | 13,353 |
| Total Indirect Emissions (equiv. kt CO₂) | 1,329 | 1,290 | 1,411 |
| Water consumption ML^ | 63,758 | 70,663 | 67,618 |
| Water consumption per tonne of alumina production kl^ | 3.66 | 4.03 | 3.55 |
| % of fresh water | 60 | 58 | 58 |
| % of grey/other water | 40 | 42 | 42 |
^Definition for water calculations updated 2019
^Definition for water calculations updated 2019
Alumina Energy Consumption
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
| Gas (Gj) | 123,952,635 | 128,614,723 | 140,359,118 |
| Coal (Gj) | 52,739,512 | 54,975,344 | 59,039,751 |
| Diesel (Gj) | 1,088,072 | 1,212,871 | 1,244,598 |
| Biomass (Gj) | 1,027,250 | 431,106 | 178,892 |
| Fuel Oil (Gj) | 224,573 | 255,212 | 190,522 |
| Other eg. cogen (Gj) | 12,356,210 | 12,361,859 | 13,045,428 |
| Purchased Electricity (Gj) | 3,762,762 | 3,863,181 | 3,904,567 |
| Total (Gj) | 195,151,014 | 201,714,296 | 217,914,403 |
| Energy consumption per tonne | |||
| Gas inc. Cogen (Gj/tonne) | 7.12 | 7.33 | 7.36 |
| Coal (Gj/tonne) | 3.03 | 3.13 | 3.10 |
| Diesel (Gj/tonne) | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.07 |
| Biomass (Gj/tonne) | 0.06 | 0.02 | 0.01 |
| Fuel Oil (Gj/tonne) | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Other | 0.71 | 0.70 | 0.68 |
| Purchased Electricity (Gj/tonne) | 0.22 | 0.22 | 0.20 |
| Total (Gj/tonne) | 11.20 | 11.50 | 11.44 |
| Emissions per Tonne Digestion | |||
| Gas (tCO₂e/tonne) | 0.20 | 0.21 | 0.21 |
| Coal (tCO₂e/tonne) | 0.28 | 0.29 | 0.30 |
| Diesel (tCO₂e/tonne) | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| Biomass (tCO₂e/tonne) | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Fuel oil (tCO₂e/tonne) | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Other eg. cogen and incidentals | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| Purchased Electricity (tCO₂e/tonne) | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| Emissions per Tonne Calcination | |||
| Gas (tCO₂e/tonne) | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.17 |
| Coal (tCO₂e/tonne) | - | - | - |
| Diesel (tCO₂e/tonne) | - | - | - |
| Biomass (tCO₂e/tonne) | - | - | - |
| Fuel oil (tCO₂e/tonne) | - | - | - |
| Purchased Electricity (tCO₂e/tonne) | - | - | - |
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
| Australian primary aluminium metal production (Mt) | 1.57 | 1.58 | 1.55 |
| Aluminium exports volume (Mt) | 1.46 | 1.50 | 1.50 |
| Aluminium imports value ($m) | 2,048 | 1,901 | 1,734 |
| Aluminium exports value ($m) | 6,207 | 7,018 | 5,280 |
| Electricity consumption (Gwh) | 22,832 | 22,837 | 22,684 |
| Electricity consumption per tonne of aluminium produced (MWh/tonne) | 14.55 | 14.49 | 14.61 |
| Water consumption (ML) | 2,159 | 2,046 | 2,095 |
| Water consumption per tonne of aluminium production (kl/tonne) | 1.38 | 1.30 | 1.35 |
| Spent Pot Lining SPL – generated (tonne) | 23,612 | 22,498 | 20,969 |
| Spent Pot Lining SPL – recycled (tonne) | 49,446 | 47,778 | 38,118 |
| Employment – Direct Employees | 3,169 | 3,153 | 3,170 |
| Employment – Contractors | 705 | 521 | 547 |
Greenhouse gases:
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
| PFC total (Mt CO2-e) | 0.22 | 0.23 | 0.39 |
| Total Direct incl. PFC (Mt CO2-e) | 2.99 | 2.99 | 3.12 |
| Total Indirect (Mt CO2-e) | 14.13 | 14.63 | 15.10 |
| Total Direct & Indirect (Mt CO2-e) | 17.12 | 17.62 | 18.22 |
| PFC / tonne (t CO2-e/tonne) | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.25 |
| Direct / tonne incl. PFC (t CO2-e/tonne) | 1.90 | 1.90 | 2.01 |
| Indirect / tonne (t CO2-e/tonne) | 9.00 | 9.28 | 9.73 |
| Direct & Indirect / tonne (t CO2-e/tonne) | 10.91 | 11.18 | 11.74 |
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
| Production of HPA | - | 26.5 | - |
| Employment – Direct Employees | - | 102 | 73 |
| Employment – Contractors | - | 6 | 13 |
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
| Total production (t) | 85,894 | 65,642 | 71,557 |
| Employment - Direct Employees | 110 | 1,292 | 1,266 |
| Employment - Contractors | 1,716 | 130 | 117 |
See the full Sustainability Data 2025 in an Excel spreadsheet here..
Sustainability Data Tables 2000 to 2022
2022 to 2000
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2015 | 2010 | 2005 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian bauxite production (Mt) | 97.68 | 97.93 | 99.08 | 83.31 | 68.91 | 62.60 | 53.77 |
| Bauxite exports volume (Mt) | 39.83 | 39.60 | 41.24 | 22.25 | 8.97 | 6.01 | NR |
| Bauxite exports value ($m) | 1,149 | 1,285 | 1,490 | 1,036 | 205 | 116 | 228 |
| Area mined (ha) | 2,922 | 2,492 | 2,391 | 3,275 | 2,514 | 1,520 | 1,788 |
| Area rehabilitated (ha) | 1,906 | 1,899 | 2,075 | 1,872 | 978 | 842 | 1,446 |
| Employment – Direct Employees | 2,955 | 2,843 | 2,831 | 2,490 | 1,941 | 964 | 675 |
| Employment – Contractors | 2,490 | 2,114 | 862 | 726 | 212 | 397 | 276 |
*NR - incomplete data or not recorded
2022 to 2000
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2015 | 2010 | 2005 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian metallurgical alumina production (Mt) | 20.3 | 21.0 | 21.0 | 20.2 | 20.4 | 15.7 | NR |
| Alumina exports volume (Mt) | 16.7 | 17.9 | 17.7 | 16.8 | 16.0 | 14.0 | 12.1 |
| Alumina exports value ($m) | 8,731 | 7,645 | 6,811 | 6,457 | 5,088 | 4,567 | 4,127 |
| Employment – Direct Employees | 5,699 | 5,509 | 5,484 | 5,804 | 6,934 | 6,510 | NR |
| Employment – Contractors | 3,580 | 2,977 | 2,562 | 2,509 | 2,889 | 2,161 | NR |
| Total GHG emissions from Australia's alumina refineries (Mt) | 14.0 | 14.6 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 14.9 | 13.4 | NR |
| Emissions intensity for alumina production (emissions/tonne) | 0.69 | 0.70 | 0.70 | 0.72 | 0.73 | 0.86 | NR |
| Total Direct Emissions (equiv. kt CO2) | 13,180 | 13,749 | 14,013 | 13,498 | 13,857 | 12,430 | NR |
| Total Indirect Emissions (equiv. kt CO2) | 856 | 874 | 737 | 988 | 1,058 | 1,035 | NR |
| Water consumption ML^ | 104,880 | 107,326 | 113,322 | 67,364 | 51,321 | 42,971 | NR |
| Water consumption per tonne of alumina production kl^ | 5.16 | 5.10 | 5.41 | 3.34 | 2.52 | 2.74 | NR |
| % of fresh water | 37 | 41 | 37 | 49 | 78 | 60 | 50 |
| % of grey/other water | 63 | 59 | 63 | 51 | 22 | 40 | 50 |
^Definition for water calculations updated 2019
Energy Consumption
2022 to 2015
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas (Gj) | 146,044,122 | 151,744,703 | 149,667,679 | 144,537,550 |
| Diesel (Gj) | 1,265,876 | 897,379 | 795,535 | 795,535 |
| Fuel Oil (Gj) | 133,059 | 175,356 | 175,356 | 113,860 |
| Purchased Electricity (Gj) | 4,075,376 | 4,306,501 | 3,913,712 | 4,350,394 |
| Other eg. coal (Gj) | 61,195,675 | 63,196,823 | 66,791,002 | 55,964,160 |
| Total (Gj) | 212,714,107 | 220,320,762 | 220,320,762 | 205,674,069 |
| Energy consumption per tonne | ||||
| Gas (Gj/tonne) | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Diesel (Gj/tonne) | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Fuel Oil (Gj/tonne) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Purchased Electricity (Gj/tonne) | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Other eg. coal (Gj/tonne) | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 2.7 |
| Total (Gj/tonne) | 10.5 | 0.5 | 10.5 | 10.1 |
2022 to 2000
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2015 | 2010 | 2005 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian primary aluminium metal production (Mt) | 1.51 | 1.56 | 1.59 | 1.65 | 1.93 | 1.91 | 1.77 |
| Aluminium exports volume (Mt) | 1.42 | 1.43 | 1.43 | 1.50 | 1.69 | 1.59 | 1.45 |
| Aluminium imports value ($m) | 2,250.54 | 1,741.41 | 1,333.78 | 1,059.37 | 957.47 | 612.11 | 451.34 |
| Aluminium exports value ($m) | 5,762.95 | 4,823.94 | 3,632.00 | 3,750.00 | 6,220.00 | 4,030.00 | 3,910.00 |
| Electricity consumption (Gwh) | 22,737 | 22,610 | 22,860 | 24,070 | 29,070 | 28,590 | 18,660 |
| Electricity consumption per tonne of aluminium produced (MWh/tonne) | 15.02 | 14.51 | 14.42 | 14.59 | 15.04 | 14.96 | NR |
| Water consumption (ML) | 1,930.66 | 1,897 | 1,832 | 1,920 | 2,160 | 1,860 | 1,810 |
| Water consumption per tonne of aluminium production (kl/tonne) | 1,275.59 | 1,217 | 27,714 | 29,340 | 31,930 | 37,960 | 15,700 |
| Spent Pot Lining SPL – recycled (tonne) | 49,700 | 26,029 | 24,671 | 52,500 | 39,400 | 25,700 | NR |
| Employment – Direct Employees | 3,113 | 2,987 | 2,874 | 2,879 | 4,540 | 3,364 | 3,387 |
| Employment – Contractors | 486 | 499 | 430 | 633 | 614 | 696 | 209 |
*NR - incomplete data or not recorded
Greenhouse gases:
2022 to 2000
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2015 | 2010 | 2005 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PFC total (Mt CO2-e) | 0.36 | 0.30 | 0.31 | 0.26 | 0.20 | 1.12 | NR |
| Total Direct incl. PFC (Mt CO2-e) | 3.03 | 3.05 | 3.08 | 2.99 | 3.63 | 4.23 | NR |
| Total Indirect | 16.20 | 16.67 | 17.03 | 19.51 | 26.54 | 27.13 | NR |
| Total Direct & Indirect (Mt CO2-e) | 19.23 | 19.72 | 20.11 | 22.50 | 30.17 | 31.36 | NR |
| PFC / tonne (t CO2-e/tonne) | 0.24 | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.16 | 0.10 | 0.59 | NR |
| Direct / tonne incl. PFC (t CO2-e/tonne) | 2.00 | 1.96 | 1.95 | 1.83 | 1.88 | 2.21 | NR |
| Indirect / tonne (t CO2-e/tonne) | 10.71 | 10.70 | 10.78 | 11.95 | 13.75 | 14.20 | NR |
| Direct & Indirect / tonne (t CO2-e/tonne) | 12.71 | 12.66 | 12.73 | 13.78 | 15.63 | 16.41 | NR |
2022 to 2016
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total production (t) | 72,215 | 75,800 | 62,833 | 59,225 | 63,918 | 69,725 | 69,789 |
| Employment - Direct Employees | 1,337 | 1,295 | 1,243 | 1,248 | 1,347 | 1,381 | 1,332 |
| Employment - Contractors | 136 | 184 | 173 | 164 | 175 | 173 | 201 |
See the full Sustainability Data 2000 to 2022 in an Excel spreadsheet here.