Corporate review 2010/2011

Growing stronger together

ContentsCorporate profile 02

Chairman’s message 03

Review by the President & CEO 06

Production and corporate performance 18

DUBAL’s core values 18

Providing 20

•Economiccontributions 20

•Quality 21

•Employees 21

•Communityinvolvement 24

Protecting 30

•Environment,Health&Safety 30

Advancing 44

•Operatingperformance 44

•Technologicalinnovation 45

•Marketpenetration 46

Our investments 48

DUBAL’s strategic vision 50

Glossary 51 Scope of this review

This corporate review details DUBAL’s activities in 2010 and 2011. It follows the prior biennial corporate review for the years 2008 and 2009, published in 2010.

The two-year period under review has seen further growth at DUBAL, both in production capacity and annual financial results; further development of our core- and upstream investments; and continued efforts to improve productivity, operating efficiency and profitability. These developments are elaborated on elsewhere in this publication.

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Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL, also referred to as ‘our company’) owns and operates one of the world’s largest aluminium smelters with a captive power station; and the largest using pre-baked anodes. Built on a 480-hectare site in Jebel Ali, Dubai, the major facilities within the complex comprise a one million metric tonne per annum primary aluminium smelter, a 2,350 megawatt (MW) power station (at 30°C), a large carbon plant, casting operations with a capability of more than 1,276,000 metric tonnes per annum, a 30 million imperial gallon per day water desalination plant, laboratories, port and storage facilities.

Our Jebel Ali plant produces high quality cast aluminium products in three main forms: foundry alloy for automotive applications; extrusion billet for construction, industrial and transportation purposes; billets for forging purposes in automotive industries; and high purity aluminium for the electronics and aerospace industries. Our full production capacity is made to order and shipped to more than 300 valued customers in about 50 countries worldwide, predominantly in Asia, Europe, the MENA region, and The Americas.

DUBAL, as an industrial enterprise, holds ISO 9001, ISO/TS 16949, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 20000, ISO 14001 and OSHAS 18001 certification; and has twice won the Dubai Quality Award in the Production and Manufacturing sector (1996 and 2000). Approximately 3,800 skilled operators, tradesmen, administrative staff, technicians, professionals and managers are employed at our Jebel Ali site. At the end of 2011, some 16 per cent of the total workforce was drawn from the local population, with UAE Nationals holding over 65 per cent of Senior Management positions. Emphasis is placed on life-long learning, with regular

skills development and training programmes facilitating continued personal and corporate growth.

In addition to direct employment, DUBAL generates thousands of indirect jobs in the local economy through outsourcing as well as local purchases of goods and services. Ongoing investments in community initiatives and corporate sponsorships contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of the city and Emirate of Dubai, and the UAE.

DUBAL also owns a 50 per cent share in Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) at Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi. Energizing of the 756 reduction cells in EMAL Phase I, with a total capacity of 750,000 metric tonnes per annum, took place between 1 December 2009 and 31 December 2010 — with full production being reached four months ahead of schedule, yet within budget. EMAL Phase II was announced in July 2011. A new 444-cell potline is being built which, together with a technology upgrade of the existing cells, will increase EMAL’s annual production capacity to 1.3 million metric tonnes by the end of 2014.

With a view to securing part of its alumina requirements, DUBAL has made investments in green-field bauxite/alumina projects that are in various stages of development. These projects are in Republic of Guinea in a joint venture with BHP Billiton, Global Alumina and Mubadala; Brazil in partnership with Norsk Hydro; and Cameroon with Hindalco and Hydromine.

Driven by a quest for continuous improvement and ongoing innovation, our company has invested substantial sums of money over the past 25 years in developing advanced reduction cell technologies that not only improve productivity but also reduce our operations’ impact on the environment through improved

energy efficiency and minimized emission levels. This has culminated most recently in our proprietary DUBAL DX Technology — a UAE flagship technology that operates at about 380 kilo-Amperes (kA) and therefore ranks among the best reduction technologies available. Developed in 2006, DX Technology has been implemented in a dedicated 40-cell potline at our Jebel Ali smelter complex; and has been licensed to EMAL Phase I where it was installed at industrial scale.

Following ongoing research and development, DUBAL’s DX Technology cells have been further developed to enable operation at even higher amperages. Five new generation cells, built in the pilot line at DUBAL’s Jebel Ali site, have been operating at above 420 kA. The improved technology — known as DX+ Technology — is underpinned by the proven, inherently robust DX Technology. DX+ Technology has been specified for EMAL Phase II.

In line with the rapid expansions of our company’s hot metal production capability, the DUBAL Power Plant has undertaken smooth state-of-the-art generation installations which incorporated increased steam turbines to enhance the station efficiency and reduce our fuel requirements. This has resulted in increased thermal efficiency of about 40 per cent, compared to 1990 levels.

DUBAL is a corporation that is wholly owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the investment arm of the government of Dubai. One of the largest non-oil contributors to the economy of Dubai, DUBAL is widely regarded as the industrial flagship of the UAE. Having begun to tap metal at the Jebel Ali site in November 1979, our company celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2009.

Corporate profile

403

Growing from a position of strength

The two years covered by this

corporate review have been

characterized by the continued

steady recovery of the aluminium

industry, following the global

economic recession that began

mid-2008. As one of the world’s

lowest-cost aluminium producers,

DUBAL holds a position of relative

strength in the industry, and has

therefore sustained production

levels at maximum capacity.

Indeed, DUBAL in 2011 produced

a record 1,050,000 metric tonnes

of cast metal; and sold

1,032,545 metric tonnes of

product (up 1.7 per cent on

the 1,015,520 metric tonnes

sold in 2010). This, together

with ongoing emphasis on

controlling costs and improving

the efficiency of our operations,

has boosted both revenues

and our profit margin.

Moreover, DUBAL has maintained

its market position: the solid

relationships built with our

customers over the years have

enabled us to retain the business

of our existing 300-strong

customer base and to continue

selling our metal into more than

50 countries on five continents

worldwide. Conscious efforts

are continually made to identify

and exploit new opportunities

in the market for our products,

leading most recently to DUBAL

products being shipped to

South America.

DUBAL has made significant

efforts in securing its alumina

requirement through strategic

investments in green-field alumina

projects in different parts of the

world in addition to existing

long-term contracts.

At the same time, our long-standing

relationships with suppliers ensured

the continued delivery of good

quality materials plus constructive

interaction between the technical

teams of both parties. Employee

relationships also strengthened,

as confirmed by improved

satisfaction levels revealed through

our employee survey.

In pursuit of the DUBAL vision,

we almost doubled the volume of

metal marketed by our company

in 2010 (compared to 2005). The

commissioning of Phase I at EMAL,

of which DUBAL is a 50 per cent

shareholder, began in December 2009.

Since the end of 2010, EMAL Phase I

has been running at full capacity

of 750,000 metric tonnes per

annum and reached the production

milestone of one million tonnes in

total mid-November 2011.

With the launch of EMAL Phase II

in July 2011, we are confident of

achieving our previously stated

2015 vision. Having practically

achieved our quantitative vision,

we have now formulated a new,

qualitative vision for DUBAL, whereby

we aim “to be one of the best

companies in the global aluminium

industry in production, markets,

people and results by 2020”.

Our vision for DUBAL, formulated in 2005, is to become one of the world’s top five aluminium producers by 2015. Today, with a capacity of close to 1.4 million metric tonnes per year including our 50 per cent share of EMAL, DUBAL is the largest primary aluminium producer in the Middle East. Our share of the estimated 45.6 million metric tonnes of annual global production in 2011, is 3.0 per cent.

Chairman’s message

Building on our existing track

record, our strong and highly

experienced management team

looks forward with confidence

to fulfilling this new goal.

Our unwavering commitment to

sustainability, good corporate

governance, together with

continuing investments in

the development of people,

provide a solid foundation for

this quest. This is combined with

our determination to protect the

environment and safeguard

the well-being of our employees

and the community.

HHSheikhHamdanBinRashidAlMaktoum

Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister

of Finance, and Chairman of DUBAL

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Of these, the single most important and unifying ingredient is DUBAL’s acknowledgement that our company’s success is inter-dependent on that of all our stakeholders. It is with this in mind that we have built our business on excellence-based partnerships with each of our key stakeholder audiences — who we have identified as our shareholders, the government of Dubai, customers, employees, suppliers, partners and our community. By working together, we have achieved more.

Importantly, our vision is supported by several core goals, towards which we continually strive — including being the supplier of choice; low-cost high-quality producer of primary aluminium; a substantial contributor to the GDP of the UAE; the employer of choice, especially for UAE Nationals; and maintaining our focus on protecting the environment as well as the health and safety of our people and the community. We have also implemented an aggressive growth strategy that combines organic expansions, improvements in productivity, the formation of joint ventures to develop green-field smelters using DUBAL’s proprietary DX and DX+ Technologies and world-class smelter management expertise, and the implementation of partnerships to secure an adequate supply of strategic raw materials such as alumina.

These developments will help position the DUBAL brand among the best aluminium producers

across the globe, in keeping with our new corporate vision – to be one of the best companies in the global aluminium industry in production, markets, people and results by 2020.

Global industry overview

According to industry statistics, the global demand for aluminium in 2011 increased by 9 per cent (compared to 2010 levels) to 44.9 million metric tonnes. Going forward, analysts forecast continued strong demand for aluminium, with a 6 per cent increase projected for 2012 to 47.3 million metric tonnes. The major drivers of this growth will remain emerging markets including Brazil, Russia, India and China.

As is inevitable, the economic and political developments of 2011 affected the aluminium industry – both at global and regional level. For example, the liquidity and solvency issues in Europe and the associated threat of further

Building a better business through excellence-based partnerships The two years under review have once again demonstrated the sustainability of DUBAL’s business. Time and again, the secrets behind our success have been confirmed, namely a combination of visionary leadership and strong management; operational excellence and a proven business model; motivated and skilled people; very good relationships with all our stakeholders; tried-and-tested home-grown technology; a strong global customer base coupled with a well-established brand name; and a positive track record in terms of growth and profitability.

Review by the President & CEO

07 08

recession in the Eurozone have placed aluminium producers and end- users in that region under pressure, while weakening demand has reduced export volumes of primary aluminium to the European market.

The impact of volatile exchange rates on commodity prices has also been an adverse factor, with the decline in the value of the Euro contributing to the drop in average LME prices for aluminium in the second half of 2011. DUBAL nevertheless achieved record net premiums throughout 2011, reflecting the strong position of our brand and high purity products.

The continuing increase in raw material costs since 2009 placed profit margins of aluminium producers under further pressure during the two-year review period, resulting in substantial shut-downs in production capacity across the globe. However, the low-cost smelters – such as DUBAL and EMAL – continued to operate profitably at full capacity.

Regionally speaking, 2011 was characterized by political unrest (dubbed the Arab Spring) in several countries in the Middle East North Africa region. The situation introduced new challenges to the primary aluminium industry in the Middle East, all of which we were able to overcome. For example, a minimal loss in demand was experienced; and the cost of business became somewhat higher due to the increased political risk and thus increased freight and credit insurance costs.

Strong competition has also been experienced from the new and existing primary aluminium producers in the Middle East.

Several differentiating features set DUBAL and EMAL apart, which equipped us not only to

manage this challenging period but rather to thrive in it. These include our premium quality, high purity products; dedication to service excellence and technology improvements; ongoing focus on succession planning; and commitment to continuous improvement so as to ensure the sustainability of our business for future generations. We also worked closely with our suppliers and our customers to find creative solutions that would contribute to their own sustainability. The combination of these attributes engendered loyalty from all our stakeholders and mutual growth. Together, we shone.

Over more than three decades, our company has evolved from a small regional operator into a world-class global player renowned for manufacturing premium quality, high purity aluminium products. Our growth over the years has, however, not been achieved in isolation but through solid, long-standing, partnership-type, excellence-centred relationships with all our stakeholders.

In 1980, the first year of DUBAL’s commercial operation, the annual primary aluminium production in the Middle East was 160,000 metric tonnes (1 per cent of world production). Driven by organic expansions, this rose to 1.8 million metric tonnes by 2007 (about 5 per cent of the 38 million metric tonnes produced worldwide). Following the establishment of new smelters in the Middle East since 2008 (with expansions and other new developments), the region’s total aluminium production capacity stood at 3.6 million metric tonnes in 2011 (7.9 per cent of the 45.48 million metric tonnes produced worldwide). Going forward, the region is positioned to play an even greater role in the primary aluminium producer segment: current estimates suggest that the Middle East will

produce approximately 5 million metric tonnes per annum of the metal by 2015.

Attesting to the growing importance of the Middle East in the global aluminium industry, the Gulf Aluminium Council was officially launched in 2010 — its membership comprising all of the primary aluminium smelters in the region as well as several downstream businesses. DUBAL has strong representation within the Gulf Aluminium Council, including Chairmanship of the council plus chairmanship and/or membership of diverse specialised committees.

Corporate governance

As a corporate entity, DUBAL believes that excellence in governance and business performance go hand-in-hand and that, as one of the world’s leading companies, we commit to the highest ethical and governance standards in all our dealings. This is consistent with our values and fundamental to our image as a good corporate citizen. Emphasis is placed on maintaining exemplary ethical standards, personal and corporate integrity, and respect for others.

The governance structure within DUBAL comprises our Board of Directors, President & Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Management Committee. Four specialised committees facilitate the role of the Board, namely the Finance Committee, Technical Committee, Audit Committee and the Human Resources (HR) Committee. The President & CEO, who holds delegated authority from the Board of Directors to achieve DUBAL’s objectives, has established the following committees of management to aid in the fulfilment of his responsibilities: Executive Management Committee, Investment Committee, Risk Management Committee, Technology Committee

and Strategic Materials Committee. Several other management committees are also in place within the office of the President & CEO notably Intellectual Property (IP), Project Tender, Purchasing Tender, Mechanical Engineering, Smelter Projects Steering, Information Technology (IT) Governance, and Electrical Engineering. Every committee has a clear mandate governing its functions, as per its respective Charter published on the DUBAL Intranet.

The day-to-day operations of our company are governed and controlled by formalised policies, procedures, systems, levels of authority and responsibility as approved by the Board. These internal control processes are designed to prevent and mitigate risks as part of an overall risk assessment and risk management function. An enterprise-wide risk management (ERM) framework is in place, which identifies risks and quantifies their impact. This risk management framework defines the criteria for recognizing risk and also sets the acceptable level of residual risk of the company. A risk management strategy, comprising various actions to mitigate and transfer high-impact risks, ensures that only residual impacts are to be absorbed as part of the normal course of operations. The risk management framework is consistent with the principles and guidelines set by ISO 31000.

An independent review of corporate governance at DUBAL was conducted by Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance (Hawkamah) in April 2011. The results of the review, which were presented to the Board of Directors in June 2011, indicate that DUBAL is a mature company, with world-class policies and procedures; demonstrates a clear commitment to good corporate governance; has clearly assigned roles and responsibilities; and has developed a

detailed authority matrix. Hawkamah also made recommendations for continuous improvement, in response to which the Board of Directors resolved that DUBAL’s management should investigate implementing the same.

Already, DUBAL’s governance structure has been strengthened through the appointment of a highly qualified Company Secretary & Chief Legal Counsel in July 2011. Also, a detailed ERM policy and procedures was produced in 2011, with the view to strengthening the effectiveness of risk management at DUBAL — thereby protecting and enhancing shareholder value. Fully aligned with our risk management framework, the ERM policy and procedures document aims to highlight the top ten enterprise-wide risks, the potential impact and probability of occurrence, as well as those accountable to manage the risks and the actions to mitigate the same.

A new Intellectual Property (IP) Committee was formed in August 2011 to formulate and examine strategies, policies and procedures to identify and protect intellectual property that DUBAL either owns or has the right to use or own; examine proposals for suitability of IP registration or protection via a non-registration route (such as trade secrets or copyright); ensure that appropriate registrations are executed; and monitor DUBAL’s IP sales, licenses, registrations, protections and allow DUBAL to refrain from infringing.

Plans have been established to address emergencies and contingencies, such as a supply contingency plan for critical raw materials; and an IT Continuity plan. A full Crisis/Emergency & Business Continuity Management System has been implemented, as detailed on page 42.

In 2010, the ownership of DUBAL changed from being directly owned by the government of Dubai to wholly owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD); therefore remaining indirectly wholly owned by the government of Dubai.

Protecting people and the planet

At the core of DUBAL’s corporate culture is a commitment to “Zero Harm to People and the Environment”, which is shared by both our regular employees and the people employed by the contractors engaged by DUBAL for project and engineering work, who also work on the site.

Several milestones were reached during the review period. For example, on the safety front, the

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total recordable injury frequency rate (per million man-hours) at our Jebel Ali Site declined to 3.64 in 2011 (2010: 4.21) — down from 13.12 in 2004. In terms of both safety and occupational health, 2011 was the fifth consecutive year in which no lost days due to heat-related illnesses were recorded. Environmentally-speaking, DUBAL’s endeavours to reduce energy consumption and harmful emissions (particularly fluoride and perfluorocarbons) yielded results ahead of the targets set by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) for 2010.

The harmful emissions from our operations have also continued to decline: oxides of nitrogen released to the atmosphere has been maintained from 2008 to 2011 even though hot metal production increased by 15 per cent over the same period; and the metric tonnage of sulphur dioxide emitted per metric tonne of aluminium produced decreased measurably. With our plant fully re-commissioned following the power outage incident in November 2008, and operating stably, the volume of hydrogen fluoride emitted has continued to decline such that in 2011, our total fluoride emissions were 38 per cent lower than in 2000. Similarly, the volume of perfluorocarbon emissions has continued to fall and in 2011 was 88 per cent lower than in 1990.

Further details on our EHS performance in 2010 and 2011 is provided on pages 30 to 42.

Enhancing operational efficiency through technology and innovation

Since inception, DUBAL’s management has been committed to continuous innovation in the aluminium smelting process so as to produce the world’s best quality aluminium products, made to order and delivered direct to customers,

while achieving maximum operating efficiencies. Substantial resources have been invested over the years in developing advanced electrolytic reduction cell technologies that not only increase productivity but also reduce the impact of smelter operations on the environment through improved energy efficiency and minimized emission levels.

This has culminated most recently in our proven, in-house developed DX Technology — a UAE flagship technology that has been implemented in a dedicated 40-cell potline at our Jebel Ali smelter complex. Operating stably at higher amperages (approximately 380 kA), DX Technology cells offer increased productivity, improved energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact compared to lower amperage technologies, as detailed on page 42. DUBAL DX Technology has also been licensed to and installed in the 756 cells constituting EMAL Phase I.

Following ongoing research and development, DUBAL’s DX Technology cells have been redesigned to enable operation at even higher amperages. Five new generation cells, built in the pilot line at DUBAL’s Jebel Ali site, have been operating at above 420 kA. The improved technology — known as DX+ Reduction Technology — is underpinned by the proven, inherently robust DX Technology. DX+ Reduction Technology has been specified for the 444-cell EMAL Phase II project.

Moreover, since the end of 2011, the commissioning of the unique, state-of-the-art Gas Turbine 23 Co-generation cycle has contributed significantly through innovation towards clean and economic power generation. This project has increased the generation capacity of the largest existing steam turbines, while sustaining the DUBAL Desalination Plant’s water production capability.

Efforts to leverage the SAP enterprise-wide system implemented at DUBAL have continued to yield significant benefits. For example:

• The Cataloguing System implemented to ensure a standard data dictionary for stores material master records and to cleanse and enrich inventory data. These features have given users access to the specification and high quality images of the items to prevent inventory duplication, resulting in cost saving and improved efficiencies.

• An Online Employee Performance Management System for supervisory employees was implemented to provide greater efficiency for monitoring and tracking of performance documents. The solution is directly linked to the learning solution.

• A new process for Product Unit Cost Reporting within the Casthouse was defined and the supporting IT systems, including Business Objects, were developed and enhanced. This has contributed to better reporting transparency, accuracy and speed of delivery. Product unit cost reporting along with the process of supporting IT Systems has resulted in better cost transparency and a better control over contributing cost factors.

• Al Murshid (an E-learning system) has been implemented to self-assist DUBAL SAP users complete SAP transactions accurately, efficiently and effectively.

These developments confirm that DUBAL’s use of the SAP Business Suite as a complete business solution will support its corporate targets while maintaining DUBAL’s reputation for quality products and excellent customer service, both within and outside the organization.

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In 2011, DUBAL embarked on the Noor program to improve our decision-making process. The Enterprise Business Intelligence framework and the strategy for information delivery were established during the same year. DUBAL intends to leverage the rich information content and use the Enterprise Business Intelligence system for analysis and decision-making. This initiative focuses on diverse sources of information within DUBAL (such as staff knowledge, publications, market research, project schedules, information from packaged systems as well as Integrated Enterprise Systems) and presents the same in a unified manner for effective decision-making.

Noor Phase I and Phase II focused on information dashboards, which were developed for the following areas:

• Corporate

• Sales & Marketing

• Finance

• Environment Health & Safety

• Human Resources

• Manufacturing areas

• Information Technology

The system is used by the area owners and their teams for information analysis and decision-making.

In 2012, Noor program intends to take DUBAL to the next level of information maturity with the focus on predictive analysis and process optimisation.

The Noor program also includes Smelter Analytics, the manufacturing intelligence solution of DUBAL. This addresses Key Performance Indicators of the manufacturing areas such as Potroom operations, Reduction Plant, Casthouse, Power and Desalination. The system provides a dashboard view of the KPI’s in a unified manner to

help make decision-making more effective. The implementation of Smelter Analytics has claimed three international awards to date and has also been nominated as one of the best innovation initiatives in international forums.

In 2010, the launch of the DUBAL portal provided a convenient way for customers, representatives, partners and staff to post service issues, place new orders, manage existing orders, track the progress or shipment of orders or view the order histories. The portal lets business stay open 24/7 around the world and delivers a convenient experience for customers while significantly reducing the cost of customer care and turnaround time. This also empowers customers with unprecedented control over their purchase decisions, real-time access driving increased return visits, and greater customer loyalty.

The DUBAL website was redesigned based on corporate requirements and standards. The award winning Tier-2 Data storage De-duplication project enabled storage workload classification for better cost versus performance efficiency, improved performance, security, and scalability having mitigated all apparent risks. The solution provided DUBAL the flexibility to use inline or adaptive disk de-duplication or VTL’s (Virtual Tape Libraries) while setting-up of a CAS (Content Addressable Storage) System with a minimum of 8TB, which fully meets international archival regulatory compliance mandates.

The implementation of the Rod Tracking Scanner Application has provided valuable and timely information on anode usage in the potrooms. This improves the tracking of a major cost component, which is carbon consumption. This has led to better traceability of anode usage, thereby having more precise metrics of cost.

Completion of configuration, testing and validation of Transmission Security Management (TSM) and testing of Automatic Generation Control (AGC) has greatly improved the visibility of our power network and increased the efficiency of fuel consumption and power generation.

Entrenching values-driven behaviour

The re-positioned, more evolved DUBAL brand continues to be entrenched throughout our organization in such a way that every point of contact between the company, suppliers, customers and business associates clearly demonstrates DUBAL’s ethics, values and excellence. This is being achieved through the implementation of initiatives to raise awareness of and acceptance of the refreshed DUBAL brand by existing and new employees.

The brand strategy, vision and values – designed to support the company’s corporate strategic vision and goals – have also been translated into a new visual system that better communicates DUBAL’s personality attributes. This visual system has been applied across all of our printed publications, exhibition stands, as well as the DUBAL website.

Since its pilot launch in 2008, the Tamahal (derived from Arabic, meaning ‘slow down) Behavioural Safety Programme has been rolled-out across all operational areas. A “no-name”, “no-blame” system, Tamahal aims to identify unsafe behaviour through observation with the primary objective of giving the observed person immediate feedback on their behaviour, as well as taking appropriate action where required. The observations, all of which are recorded, provide leading indicators and actionable

knowledge (unlike incidents and hazard reports). The impact of the Tamahal programme is detailed on page 41 of this review.

Benchmarking against the world’s best

DUBAL achieved re-certification to the ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 standards in May 2011. Our company also holds the following certifications: ISO/TS 16949:2009 Automotive production and relevant service part organizations; OHSAS 18001:2007 Occupational Safety and Health Administration System; ISO/IEC 27001:2005 Information Security Management System; and ISO/IEC 20000-1:2005 Information Services Management.

Our Business Excellence (BE) programme is actively promoted. This company-wide umbrella programme for all in-house improvement initiatives includes team-based projects/activities and DUBAL’s Suggestion Scheme. The 30th year of the Suggestion Scheme, celebrated in April 2011, brought the cumulative savings achieved since 1981 to AED133 million (US$36.2 million) from a total of 137,543 awarded suggestions. Records were set in 2010, as detailed under “Quality” on page 21. As indicated under “Awards and Recognition” on page 14, the DUBAL Suggestion Scheme received international accolades during the review period, through Ideas.Arabia, Ideas.UK, and Ideas.USA (formerly known as the USA Employee Involvement Association).

To further strengthen the creativity and innovation in the organization, DUBAL established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Deutsches Institut fuer Betriebswirtschaft (DIB), Germany in 2011. DUBAL is the first company outside Germany-speaking countries to join DIB.

Over the past two years, our High Performance Team (HPT) approach to team-based programmes has effectively encouraged continuous as well as breakthrough improvements in our processes. In addition, our BE Programme is complemented by scientific problem-solving tools and methodologies such as Seven Quality Control (QC) Tools and the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) approach. By enhancing the knowledge base within our company, we have strengthened our data-driven decision-making capabilities at all levels in the organization. DUBAL’s continual improvement case studies have received accolades as indicated under “Awards and recognition” on page 14.

As a company, DUBAL is keen to enjoy the benefits of Lean Management in terms of eliminating waste from the workplace. Accordingly, DUBAL has begun implementing the 5S programme exhaustively across the organization as a part of our drive towards continual improvement. Employees at all levels are encouraged and recognized for their efforts in enhancing the effectiveness of workplace management practices in their respective areas. The internal mechanisms and controls are in place to implement and sustain effective and efficient work places across the organization. The 5S implementation has also resulted in significant savings and simplification of processes. The 5S implementation in Pot Relining & Preheat won a Silver Award at the 2011 Continual Improvement and Innovation Symposium under the KAIZEN category (see page 14).

The Corporate Strategy Performance Review system has been fully implemented at DUBAL using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) format. This provides an equitable platform for motivating performance aligned with DUBAL’s corporate goals and

appraisal of progress against the same, while ensuring that the corporate objectives are cascaded down to all levels of the organization. The BSC system facilitates tracking of current results in terms of financial performance while helping to achieve future growth by measuring performance in terms of financial results, customer focus, internal processes, and people learning and growth.

Attesting to the company’s successful use of the BSC framework, DUBAL was officially inducted into the 2011 Palladium Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame for Executing Strategy. Moreover, DUBAL was the first aluminium smelter in the world and the first manufacturing company in the UAE to receive this honour.

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Our BE programme, being the

foundation of DUBAL’s continuous

improvement initiatives, is

aligned to our company’s BSC —

which, in turn, encourages

improvements in four perspectives

(Financial, Customers & Business

Partners, Internal Processes,

and Learning & Growth). These

initiatives, together, have yielded many

significant improvements in

our company’s safety and

environmental performance,

quality, as well as operational

effectiveness/efficiency and reliability.

The third round of the biennial

Voice Your Opinion employee

survey, conducted mid-March 2011,

revealed that DUBAL is performing

well against external benchmarks.

Our overall results were rated

by Hay Group — an independent

organization that prepared

the survey and analyzed the

responses — as very positive

(as outlined on page 22).

On average, DUBAL is 4 per cent

above Hay Group’s Middle East

Norm and 7 per cent above Hay

Group’s Global Industry Norm;

and on par with Hay Group’s High

Performing Companies Norm.

The DUBAL Power Plant achieves

high generating unit availability

and reliability records, as

benchmarked against Western

European, North American and

Arab region commercial power

producers. A report compiled by

KEMA on DUBAL’s Frame 9E units

in 2005 revealed the ranking

shown in Figure 1.

Moreover, all of the DUBAL Power

Plant’s generating units are

benchmarked by the Operational

Reliability Analysis Program (ORAP®)

analysis and a report provided

by Strategic Power Systems Inc.

reveals excellent records.

Awards and recognition

DUBAL continues to receive local,

regional and international accolades,

at both corporate and individual

level. In the two years under review,

the company received the following:

2010

• Dubai Human Development Award.

• Technology Award in the 2010

Ideas.Arabia competition.

• International Award, Campaign

Award (First and Second) and

Benchmarking Survey Award in the

2010 Ideas.UK Competition.

• Team Idea of the Year, Green Idea

of the Year and Saving per Eligible

Employee Ratio (SEER) Award

(Gold) in the 2010 USA Employee

Involvement Association (EIA)

Competition (now known as Ideas.

America).

• Editor’s Choice in the Computer

News Middle East ICT Achievement

Awards 2010.

• CIO 20 Middle East 2010.

• Appreciation Award from the

UAE Ministry of Education as

one of the most active private

sector organizations in providing

meaningful support.

• Arabian Computer News 2010

I.T. Manager of the Year.

• Gold Sponsor’s Trophy in the 2010

Emirates Energy Awards.

• Business Performance

Management award for Smelter

Analytics in 2009 Oracle Open World.

2011

• Productivity and Health & Safety Awards in the 2011 Ideas.Arabia competition.

• Security Strategist Editor’s Choice Award 2011.

• Overall Idea of the Year, Team Idea of the Year, Green Idea of the Year (Silver), SEER Performance Excellence (Gold) Award for employee participation and SEER Performance Excellence Honourable Mention Award for savings per 100 eligible employees in Ideas.America competition.

• Honorary Stevie Award for Business Excellence.

• Environmental Award, Health & Safety Award, International Award, Best Promotional Poster Trophy and Benchmarking Survey Award in the 2011 Ideas.UK Competition.

• 2nd Runner-up in the Arabia CSR Awards 2011.

• Project of the Year 2011 “Honourable Mention Best Gas-Fired Project” at the Power-Gen International 2011 conference.

• Silver and Bronze Award under KAIZEN Category and Silver Award under Breakthrough Process Improvement Category (using Six Sigma) in the 2011 Continual Improvement and Innovation (CII) Symposium.

Also in 2010, in my capacity as Vice Chairman of EMAL, I was the joint recipient of the inaugural MEED Middle East Aluminium Leadership Award, along with H E Khaldoon Al Mubarak (Chairman: EMAL). The award acknowledges excellence and achievement in the Middle East aluminium industry over the prior twelve months.

Figure 1: DUBAL Power Plant availability against regional power producers.

Building the business

Significant progress has been

made in developing the EMAL

aluminium smelter at Al Taweelah in

Abu Dhabi, which is owned jointly by

DUBAL and Mubadala Development

Company (in equal shareholding). The

EMAL Project, built in two Phases,

has been designed to be the largest

aluminium smelter in the world, with

an ultimate capacity of approximately

1.4 million tonnes per annum.

Energizing of the 756 reduction cells

in EMAL Phase I, with a total capacity

of 750,000 metric tonnes per annum,

took place between 1 December 2009

and 31 December 2010 — with full

production being reached four months

ahead of schedule and within budget.

EMAL Phase II was announced in

July 2011. A new 444-cell potline

will be built which, together with

a technology upgrade of the

existing cells, will increase EMAL’s

annual production capacity to

1.3 million metric tonnes by 2014.

The ground-breaking ceremony for

EMAL Phase II took place on

29 September 2011.

Further progress is also being made

to secure a portion of DUBAL’s alumina

requirements through our strategic

upstream bauxite/alumina projects.

Efforts are ongoing to source and

secure other opportunities.

Additional detail on these projects is

provided below and on page 48.

Alumina projects

After completion of EMAL Phase II,

DUBAL and EMAL would need

approximately 5 million metric

tonnes per annum of alumina. With

a view to minimize our exposure to

market forces, DUBAL has made

strategic investments in several

green-field alumina refinery projects,

the most active being:

Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC)

GAC is a joint venture of DUBAL,

BHP Billiton, Mubadala and Global

Alumina which proposes to build an

alumina refinery in Guinea (West

Africa). DUBAL holds 25 per cent

equity in this project with an alumina

off-take share of 40 per cent of

the alumina production. Earthworks

and construction of the port is in

progress.

Companhia de Alumina do Pará (CAP)

CAP is a joint venture of Norsk

Hydro and DUBAL in which DUBAL’s

equity is 19 per cent. The project is

based in Brazil at a site very close

to the Alunorte Refinery. The nominal

initial capacity of the green-field

project is 1.86 million metric tonnes

per annum, which may be expanded

to 7.3 million metric tonnes per

annum subsequently. Earthworks,

site preparation and engineering

development are in progress.

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92

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96

97

DUBALPower Plant

Western Europe(commercial

power producer)

North America(commercial

power producer)

Arab region(refinery

power station)

Western Europe(commercial

power producer)

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15 16

• Aspiring to cause no harm to people, the environment and the local community;

• Effective governance and risk management processes;

• Recognising the need to be socially responsible and to contribute to sustainable community development; and

• Ensuring the broader economic contributions of our operations are effectively injected into the local economy.

This publication is an expression of our accountability and transparency, as well as being an essential aspect of our stakeholder engagement activities. It is also a valuable management tool, as it contains a collation of performance data and statements of key issues and related management approaches.

AbdullaJassimKalban

President & CEO of DUBAL

Cameroon Alumina Limited (CAL)

CAL is a joint venture of DUBAL, Hindalco and Hydromine Inc. DUBAL holds 45 per cent equity in the project which aims to build a green-field alumina refinery of 3.0 million metric tonnes per annum (in two phases) in Cameroon. Currently, CAL is awaiting award of a Mining License which is under consideration of the Government of Cameroon.

Sustainable development

DUBAL recognizes that a holistic approach to our business strategy, while seeking to realise value for all our stakeholders through a sustainable business philosophy, is critical for the company’s long-term success. Accordingly, we are committed to ensuring that the business remains viable and contributes long-term benefits to society through the consideration of social, environmental, and economic aspects in all that we do.

Department managers have ultimate accountability for ensuring our contribution to sustainable development, thereby supporting progress towards our stated sustainability objectives, namely:

17 18

Providing

Our extensive smelting operation at Jebel Ali, Dubai, is set on a 480-hectare site and provides excellent career opportunities for UAE residents. As the UAE’s industrial flagship, our company provides a major stimulus to the local economy, contributing to the Nation’s economic stability, as well as the UAE’s continued growth and development.

Our high quality aluminium products are used extensively across diverse industrial sectors, ranging from aerospace and electronics — where our company is renowned for producing the highest purity aluminium for these exacting applications; through the transport, construction and industrial sectors; to the automotive industry — where DUBAL is among the world’s largest suppliers of foundry alloy.

Across the spectrum, DUBAL products and activities help improve living standards and quality of life for people all over the world.

Protecting

At DUBAL, we pursue our operations ever mindful of the need to protect the environment, as well as the health and safety of our employees and the community. As a corporate citizen, we respect the need to preserve precious natural resources, especially air and water.

Without exception, the management of DUBAL puts the safety and security of people and the land at the forefront of all decision-making. We endeavour to act responsibly and admirably to protect the environment by providing a safe, secure work environment, minimizing harmful emissions, and adopting a ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ mentality in all our activities.

Advancing

DUBAL, as a company, is committed to using in-house technology to perfect our processes and thereby produce the world’s best quality aluminium products. Extensive laboratory research and experimentation enables us to continuously identify new mechanisms, and ways of doing things, giving our company a competitive edge that rivals the best in the industry. Additionally, we are confident of achieving our previously stated corporate vision to rank among the top five aluminium producers in the world by 2015.

Our corporate vision — to be one of the best companies in the global aluminium industry in production, markets, people and results by 2020 — is supported by a set of corporate values, encapsulated in three words: providing, protecting and advancing.

DUBAL’s core values

Production and corporate performance

19 20

Economic contributions

DUBAL’s sales revenues in 2011, at AED11.144 billion (US$3.03 billion), were higher than the AED 8.6 billion (US$2.35 billion) achieved in 2010. Likewise, net profits rose 65 per cent year-on-year, with an increase in operating margin from 25 per cent in 2010 to 32 per cent in 2011. Prudent financial management, together with the inherent flexibility in our operations to change the product mix to meet customer demands, enabled our company to report excellent financial results throughout the two-year period. Cash generation from operations increased by 48 per cent.

Reflecting the additional capacity commissioned in the plant following the completion of Potline 6B in February 2008 and ongoing productivity improvements,

DUBAL’s annual hot metal production in 2010 and 2011 amounted to 1,002,014 metric tonnes and 1,014,796 metric tonnes respectively (a 1.3 per cent year-on-year increase). The volume of cast metal finished products amounted to 1,043,104 metric tonnes in 2010 and 1,055,310 metric tonnes in 2011 (see Figure 2).

Sales of DUBAL products over the two-year period totalled 2,048,065 metric tonnes, with the 1,032,545 metric tonnes sold in 2011 being 1.7 per cent up on 2010 (1,015,520 metric tonnes) and the highest-ever in the company’s history. More than 90 per cent of our total production volume is exported each year, DUBAL products being shipped to approximately 300 customers in at least 50 countries across five continents.

DUBAL continues to contribute indirectly to Dubai’s economy through the positive ripple effects created by employment (by way of disposable income and individual career growth) and purchasing of goods and services from local suppliers. In addition, at least 40 per cent of the budget allocated to each expansion project undertaken by DUBAL is allocated to purchases from local contractors and suppliers.

With regard to raw material imports, DUBAL spent approximately AED7,531 million (US$2,050 million) over the two-year review period on goods from nations in every part of the world, including Australia, the USA, China, Jordan, South Korea and Japan (more than 30 countries). Goods were also purchased in the local market.

Figure 2: Production statistics (2003 to 2011).

Providing

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Hot metal Cast metal Metal sales

21 22

evaluated twice each year against agreed targets. The performance management system also helps drive the business by aligning individual goals to department and corporate objectives, identifying the individuals’ competency levels and agreeing plans to leverage strengths and build on any weaknesses. The company ensures that every individual employee has a performance agreement in place and regular review meetings each year.

Active participation in continuous improvement is encouraged by involving all employees in the business. Three main schemes are used for this purpose, each offering substantial rewards: EHS Councils; the DUBAL Suggestion Scheme; and High Performance Teams (HPTs), which have super-ceded the former Performance Enhancement Programme.

Indeed, DUBAL is widely regarded as an employer of choice. Evidence of this lies in the fact that our company’s workforce is inherently stable: at the end of 2011, approximately 24 per cent of our employees had served at DUBAL for ten to twenty years and around 8 per cent boasted service tenure longer than twenty years.

At the end of December 2011, the DUBAL workforce comprised a total of 3,842 people representing more than 40 nationalities (2010: 3,979 employees). In terms of employment demographics, our female complement increased from 5.7 per cent in 2010 to 5.8 per cent in 2011.

Moreover, the most recent biennial employee survey revealed high levels of satisfaction, both overall and across many of the dimensions measured. The latest Voice Your Opinion survey, held in March 2011, was the third round of its kind. On each occasion, DUBAL has been benchmarked against industry and sector norms. The scores in the second and third rounds have also been benchmarked against those of the prior Voice Your Opinion Survey.

In total, 3,341 employees (84 per cent) participated in the third Voice Your Opinion survey and responded to questions on the following themes. As in prior years, the survey was conducted by Hay Group (an international management consultancy), and analysed using industry benchmarks. DUBAL ranked 7 per cent above the Global Industry Norm, 4 per cent above the Middle East Norm and on par with the High Performing Companies Norm.

Confirming the excellent standard of the results, Jan Marsli (Head of Insight Middle East: Hay Group) wrote, “In many ways it was astonishing to see the DUBAL survey results, because they are so very much more positive compared to what is normal in the Middle East

or other similar work environments across the globe. The results are on par with what we call high performing work environments; that is organizations where a vast majority of staff work together with leadership towards shared success. Mutual trust and respect between employees and leadership is perhaps the most common feature of such organizations. DUBAL has clearly established such a working climate, and enjoys a very loyal workforce that is willing to put in the extra effort to meet customer needs. The relationship between employees and leaders is also very strong. In return DUBAL is offering world-class training and development opportunities for staff, and a climate where people feel respected. There are of course challenges, no organization is perfect. What is key here is that when we look at DUBAL staff feedback, compared to other similar organizations, DUBAL comes out as one of the best industrial workplaces, be it in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world.”

Rewarding and retaining talent

Acknowledging that employees rank as one of our company’s greatest assets, DUBAL’s compensation policy and strategies are designed to ensure maximum retention of talent. Attractive remuneration packages are offered, comprising competitive salaries with yearly increments and an annual bonus; health insurance; a pension plan; a travel allowance for annual leave and scholarship opportunities for employees to expand their tertiary education. The competitiveness of our compensation and benefits is reviewed regularly through participation in formal surveys (generally biennially).

In addition, the DUBAL performance management system, in place since February 2006, benefits all employees by ensuring that individual employees at all levels are

As reported more fully under “Community Involvement” on pages 24 and 25, DUBAL invests substantially in the socio-economic development of Dubai and its people, with specific emphasis on education, career development, sport and children; and promoting the Emirate abroad.

Quality

DUBAL is a leader in the quality movement in Dubai, having twice won the Dubai Quality Award in the Production and Manufacturing sector (1996 and 2000). As a founding member and an investment partner of the Dubai Quality Group (DQG), DUBAL also participates actively in the non-profit organization’s initiatives. For example, DUBAL founded the Ideas.Arabia subgroup of DQG to promote suggestion schemes in the Arab region and has been a major sponsor of the annual Ideas.Arabia Conference since its inception in 2006 (DUBAL was the Platinum Sponsor of Ideas.Arabia 2011).

Our company is one of the few smelters worldwide to have its entire smelter operation, power and desalination plants and engineering services accredited to the international ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System standard. The company is also strongly committed to protecting the environment and has achieved full accreditation to the ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management Systems standard. Indeed, DUBAL’s accreditation to both ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 was recertified mid-2011. Four other noteworthy international certificates held by DUBAL include ISO/TS 16949:2009 standards for automotive production and relevant service part organization; Occupational Safety And Health Administration System, OSHAS 18001:2007;

ISO/IEC 27001:2005 for Information Security Management Systems; and ISO 20000-1:2005 for Information Technology Service Management.

Having launched the DUBAL Suggestion Scheme in May 1981, our company is the pioneer of Employee Suggestion Schemes in the Gulf region. Today, our highly successful Scheme is widely recognized, locally regionally and internationally. Over the past 30 years, our Scheme has achieved audited, cumulative savings amounting to AED133 million (US$36.2 million) from a total of 137,543 implemented and awarded suggestions. 2010 was the best-ever year in the Scheme’s history, with 19,490 suggestions implemented and awarded, resulting in audited savings amounting to AED19.6 million (US$5,3 million); plus 100 per cent participation from eligible employees.

Many DUBAL suggestions have also won regional and international competitions, including Ideas.UK and Ideas.USA (formerly the USA EIA), as highlighted under “Awards and recognition” on page 14.

Employees

Employer of choice

DUBAL genuinely regards its employees as the company’s greatest asset; and acknowledges that the clean, safe and healthy working environment provided by DUBAL is conducive to the personal and professional development required to fulfill their career aspirations. This was clearly demonstrated by our company receiving the 2010 Dubai Human Development Award (DHDA) during the annual Business Excellence Awards in April 2011, organized by the Dubai Department of Economic Development under the patronage of H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

Al Maktoum (Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai).

The 2010 DHDA is the third such accolade for DUBAL, our company having previously won the DHDA in 2002 and the DHDA (Gold) in 2006 (the latter precluding the company from entering the competition again until last year). In the citation for the 2010 Dubai Human Development Award, DUBAL was commended in particular for the company’s business model that drives the national goal of empowering Emirati talent.

With regard to Nationalization, DUBAL is committed to increasing the proportional Emiratization in DUBAL through training, succession planning and professional development. With this in mind, dynamic career opportunities in diverse areas of expertise are offered, giving UAE Nationals – whether school leavers, diploma-holders or graduates – abundant personal choices across the full employment spectrum. Our Nationalization efforts are governed by a comprehensive National Development Programme, manned by dedicated personnel, which is designed to ensure that National employees are equipped to take on roles with increasing responsibility within the organization. Several programmes are in place for the training and skills development of National high school and university graduates.

Thanks to these efforts, the overall proportion of UAE Nationals employed by the company at the end of December 2011 was 15.4 per cent (the majority of our Emirati workforce, at 82.7 per cent, being male). The proportionate Emiratization at senior management level is above 65 per cent. These levels compare extremely favourably against Dubai’s average Emiratization level of 4 per cent.

23 24

Figure 3: Number of Emiratis hired (accumulative total hires per year).

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The Residential Complex also has five dedicated restaurants, run by a reputed catering company, to suit the tastes of the Indian sub-continent, Filipinos and Arab/Western nations. Other facilities include a travel agent, ATM, supermarket, barber, tailor, barbecue centres and laundry services.

Community Involvement

Being the industrial flagship of the UAE, DUBAL makes significant direct contributions to the local economy. As a corporate citizen, we are also committed to fulfilling our social responsibilities by actively supporting community initiatives and the broader goals of the Dubai Government — thereby also contributing indirectly to the socio-economic growth of Dubai, to the benefit of the Emirate’s cosmopolitan population.

To further support the development of employees, our company also provides E-learning at the desktop, a Management Resource Centre equipped with books and videos, plus online access to a Virtual Learning Resource Centre.

Residential area

Approximately 1,500 people (including contractors) representing nine nationalities are housed within DUBAL’s Residential Complex. The complex includes superb leisure facilities for sport and recreation, including:

• Three floodlit and grassed pitches for soccer, cricket and hockey

• Badminton, basketball, tennis, karate, chess, music and squash clubs

• The DUBAL Ladies’ Club and Fitness Centre

• A 9-hole golf course

• A men’s Fitness Centre with a full-time instructor

• A swimming pool

• A Yoga Club with an instructor

• A mosque, a church and a gurudwara

• An Angling Club and gardening facilities

There is also a Computer Club with internet access for all members. Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed at two locations, for residents to avail the facility through their personal laptops. The reading rooms have newspapers from local and international news media covering the four major nationalities accommodated in the complex; and a dedicated DUBAL TV channel has been created, which features documentary-type content plus important corporate messaging. Cultural and social activities are encouraged. A dedicated back-office team provides round-the-clock reception and maintenance services.

DUBAL Training Centre - certified by both the UK-based Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), and Boxhill Institute of Training & Further Education, Australia - is dedicated to management skills training and the delivery of pre-employment courses. The DUBAL Training Centre is complemented by several satellite training centres located throughout the plant, which deliver function-specific theoretical and on-the-job training courses.

The DUBAL Scholarship Programme enables internal and external candidates to pursue higher studies. In addition, substantial funds are earmarked annually to help UAE high school graduates pursue post-secondary education in selected disciplines offered at various UAE institutions. This supports broader Emiratization goals and encourages young UAE Nationals to choose career paths which DUBAL can benefit from in the future. Mid-2011, DUBAL was sponsoring 50 university students enrolled for courses in various fields of engineering and administration.

Structured six-day management development programmes, accredited by ILM, are provided to all first line supervisors and middle managers as well as senior leadership development programmes conducted, for example, by Ashridge Business School or INSEAD. An extensive range of short workshops is also offered to employees so as to develop management competencies in line with individual needs, as are opportunities to attend external courses in the UAE and abroad. In addition, the company has six accelerated programmes for identified high performers/high potential individuals at first line, middle and senior management level. The combination ensures that confident and skilled successors are in place for key leadership positions.

courses include both classroom and on-the-job training in several areas of specialisation, including craft, smelter operations and the combined discipline of power and desalination. In total, 166 UAE Nationals enrolled for DUBAL’s development programmes over the two years (i.e. 102 in 2010 and 64 in 2011). On average, the number of training days per UAE National is 9.13, including English Language for PEC and Graduate Trainee courses (i.e. Future Leaders, External Courses) but excluding on-the-job training.

This investment in career development contributes indirectly to the economy of Dubai, as highlighted under “Economic contributions” on page 20.

Investing in skills development and training

Moreover, opportunities for training and development are offered to the workforce as a whole, resulting in an average of 4.2 training days per employee in 2011 alone. The central

Our expansion projects, penetration into new markets and rapid adoption of new technologies have placed greater emphasis on the contribution, qualities and skills of people. Mirroring this, our Human Resources (HR) department is focused primarily on ensuring the continual availability and enhancement of human skills and capabilities to meet the business challenges at all times. Several major systems and processes are in place to support this, notably manpower planning, job description and job evaluation systems; recruitment and succession planning processes; a performance management system; and ongoing skills training and development.

Other initiatives to retain talent include on-site accommodation for non-supervisory employees, Haj pilgrimage sponsorship for Muslim employees, sports/leisure facilities, a CEO Special Recognition award and long-service recognition. Open communication is encouraged via several platforms, including Voice Your Opinion (our internal employee

satisfaction survey, see pages 14 and 22 for the latest results), Imtiaz (our in-house journal) and the DUBAL Suggestion Scheme.

Developing local talent

DUBAL has an active Emiratization policy, targeted at employing and developing UAE Nationals. More than 203 UAE Nationals were employed for high skills positions across the organization during the two-year period under review (see Figure 3), bringing the total accumulative number of new Emirati recruits hired by the company since 2000 to 1,645.

Investments are also made in training, succession planning and professional development of UAE Nationals, in keeping with company policy to develop these employees for challenging roles with increasing responsibility in the organization. DUBAL’s specifically designed pre-employment courses, for example, cater exclusively for the development of skills and talent among UAE Nationals. These

25 26

DUBAL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy and strategy reflect our company’s positioning as a responsible business entity that is committed to sustainable development to the benefit of all our stakeholders. For example, our CSR Vision is to build partnerships and develop opportunities to address community needs, always adhering to world-class standards. This is interpreted through our CSR Mission, which is to consolidate DUBAL’s corporate social investment through a strong focus on capacity-building, social innovation, long-term partnerships, and employee engagement in community development initiatives.

Preference is given to supporting initiatives that strengthen DUBAL’s relationships with our stakeholder communities while also making a positive contribution to our business. Four major focus areas have been defined, namely:

• Economic: We support the economy through direct and indirect financial contributions, with associated benefits for the community.

• Social: We aim to improve living conditions and create opportunities for underprivileged and disadvantaged members of society.

• Environment: We strive to preserve precious natural resources and act responsibly so as to protect the environment.

• Workplace: We encourage individual development and diversity amongst employees. We encourage our employees to be socially responsible and proactively support socially responsible behaviour.

Employee engagement

Throughout the review period, DUBAL’s concern for the community embraced diverse causes, from non-governmental organizations; through conferences, exhibitions and symposia; to awards; sporting events; education; and children in general. The DUBAL CSR Club, established in 2009 has proved a strong vehicle for continually enhancing our CSR by encouraging employees to become involved in DUBAL’s social, environmental and community services programmes.

Specific examples of this include, among many others, support for Dubai Autism Center by raising awareness of the condition and funds for the organization; active involvement in the 2010 and 2011 Emirates Environment Group (EEG) Can Collection Campaigns; outreach efforts to aid disadvantaged members of society through organizations such as Al Mamzar Geriatric Center, Al Noor Training Centre for Special Needs, Dubai Center for Special Needs and Al Ihsan Charity Centre; and participation in Earth Hour 2011 (our third time). DUBAL also marked the annual World Environment Day by planting trees in 2010 and participating in a clean-up campaign at Ghantout Nature Reserve; as well as in the international World Clean-Up campaign (through the activities co-ordinated by EEG).

Internally, DUBAL has launched the Green Life Project, which encourages employees to recycle diverse materials (such as paper, plastic, aluminium drink cans, glass, batteries and e-waste). Inspired by a similar concept within the community, we introduced an annual Bring A Smile campaign in 2010 whereby a personal gift is presented to every labourer employed by contractors on our Jebel Ali site. In total,

2,395 gifts were distributed during the review period (990 in 2010; 1,405 in 2011).

The caring culture at DUBAL was further demonstrated by the generous outpouring of support from employees to an appeal in 2010 to support the millions of flood victims in Pakistan: a total of AED120,000 (US$32,608) was collected through payroll deductions. Likewise, an appeal to support the relief efforts for the millions of people affected by the severe drought and ongoing conflict in the Horn of Africa region yielded 18.2 tonnes of non-perishable food items and water.

These activities not only strengthen DUBAL’s reputation as a caring organization, but also give our people the scope to express their individual support for the community while endorsing the image and positioning of our company and the DUBAL brand. Employees are also encouraged to participate in, or support community projects, whether individually or in groups, outside of the DUBAL CSR Club’s scope.

In addition, employees and their families were targeted by internal health-focused community-orientated programmes during the two-year period. These included participation in local and international events, notably World Diabetes Day, Anti-Tobacco Day and Breast Cancer Month; and corporate Blood Donation Days in support of the local blood bank. Health-related information was also disseminated through our monthly employee newsletter and focused campaigns, the topics covered including musculo-skeletal disorders, noise-induced hearing loss, the importance of a healthy lifestyle (especially during the heat of summer) and ergonomics.

27 28

Corporate sponsorships

As in prior years, our CSR activities during the review period were strongly supplemented by DUBAL’s corporate sponsorship of world-class sporting and industry events that showcase Dubai’s tourism and business infrastructure to international audiences; regional award programmes that recognize and reward innovation; career exhibitions that maintain awareness of our company as an employer of choice in the region, with the aim of increasing the proportional Emirati representation within our workforce; and ad hoc initiatives that promote our industry and/or the UAE.

In the sporting arena, our major annual sponsorships remained:

• Omega Dubai Desert Classic: DUBAL has sponsored this PGA European Tour-sanctioned event, held annually in Dubai since 1989 — the 2011 tournament marked the 20th year of DUBAL’s involvement. Events such as the Dubai Desert Classic are an integral part of showcasing Dubai to international audiences. It highlights Dubai’s superb tourism and business infrastructure and demonstrates the city’s innovative and cosmopolitan flair. The event is organized by ‘golf in Dubai’.

• Omega Dubai Ladies’ Masters Golf Tournament: Our company has also been the main sponsor of this annual PGA European Tour-sanctioned Dubai Ladies’ Masters Golf Tournament since its inception in 2006.

• Horse Racing: DUBAL has sponsored the Dubai International Racing Carnival and the Dubai Winter Racing Challenge, held at Dubai’s Nad Al Sheba Racecourse for several years. As of 2010, the venue for these events has changed to the new Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

• Jet Ski Racing: The UAE National Jet Ski Racing Competition has been included in our sponsorship portfolio since 2005. In particular, support is provided to three-time world champion, Nadir Bin Hindi, enabling him to compete against a range of national and international champions, in the seven-heat National Jet Ski Racing Series.

• Dubai International Arabian Horse Championship: Since 2007, DUBAL has been a key sponsor of the annual Dubai International Arabian Horse Championship, which is held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, (Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and UAE Minister of Finance and Chairman of DUBAL).

The company has been a corporate sponsor/investment partner to non-governmental organizations for several years, notably the DQG and the EEG. During the two-year review period, DUBAL also hosted the SAP Executive Advisory Council (SAP EAC) conference in Dubai during 2010. In addition, our company was the Platinum Sponsor of Aluminium Dubai 2011; the joint Platinum Sponsor with EMAL of the 26th International Aluminium Conference, organised and hosted by Metal Bulletin in France (MBI 2011) and also sponsored, in partnership with EMAL, various aspects of the 16th Commodity CRU World Aluminium Conference in Spain (CRU 2011), the 15th International Arab Aluminium Conference & Exhibition in Oman (ARABAL 2011), and the 10th Australasian Aluminium Smelting Technology Conference (AAST 2011) in Tasmania.

Furthermore, DUBAL was the Premier Sponsor of the 6th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers GCC conference and exhibition (IEEE GCC 2011), a Support Sponsor of the Dubai Quality Group &

American Society for Quality Joint Conference (DQG ASQ 2011), a Sponsor of the inaugural Dubai Global Energy Forum (DGEF 2011), organized by the Dubai Supreme Council for Energy, and a Sponsor of the 2011 Chartered Institute of Management Accountants’ (CIMA) Global Business Challenge (GBC).

Charities, donations and community projects

DUBAL is wholly committed to supporting worthy and charitable activities in the community, particularly education and career development initiatives, cultural events, and children. Our employees are encouraged to participate in all of DUBAL’s outreach activities in the community, as outlined under “Employee engagement” on page 26.

In keeping with our ongoing support for Dubai Autism Center, DUBAL was the Gold Sponsor of the Autism Trust Gala Dinner, which took place at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray hotel in June 2011. The event marked the official launch of the Autism Trust in the UAE, the major beneficiary of which is the Dubai Autism Center. In addition, members of one of our high performer/high potential accelerated development programmes worked in teams to raise funds for Dubai Autism Center during 2011.

Following the pilot phase in the 2009/2010 academic year of the DUBAL Clubs of Excellence — the second season of this new education-related initiative was held in the 2010/2011 academic year. The concept entails establishing individual DUBAL Clubs of Excellence at five different secondary schools in Dubai. The mission (and purpose) of these clubs is to create awareness among young students on specific themes that project DUBAL’s objectives, with the themes being identified on an annual basis. For the 2010/2011

academic year, the chosen theme was again the importance of protecting the environment. The members of each club (all students) organized field trips to DUBAL; hosted activities in which the environment was highlighted by conducting lectures by DUBAL employees; participated in art and writing competitions; supported outdoor activities (such as local and/or regional clean-up campaigns, tree-planting activities, recycling campaigns, Earth Hour and so on); and arranged visits to (or by) DUBAL. Handsome cash prizes were awarded to the top three participating schools.

In addition, DUBAL’s Environment Health & Safety department supported the Clubs of Excellence in the 2010/2011 academic year by conducting several environmental lectures at the participating schools. Exhibitions were also held to project the “3-Rs” concept (recycle, reuse and reduce), whereby students devised innovative ideas to recycle/reuse used or unwanted materials like plastic bottles, aluminium cans, CDs, plastic bags, magazines and newspaper into useful items such as magazine holders, key chains, boxes and home decoration accessories.

Building the nation

As part of our Emiratization policy (described on page 23), DUBAL encourages UAE Nationals to consider occupations in industry through corporate participation in job fairs and exhibitions; DUBAL Career Days; as well as the company’s well established National Development Programme. In addition to being a regular and active participant at the annual Careers UAE exhibition, DUBAL also exhibited at several career- and employer- day events hosted at the major universities and tertiary colleges across the UAE during 2010 and 2011.

DUBAL’s Recruitment department has signed an MOU with Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai, to support the educational institute in terms of providing industrial work experience; while simultaneously building the DUBAL brand as an employer of choice. In addition, an MOU was been signed during 2011 with each of Ras Al Khaimah Men’s College, Dubai Women’s College, Tanmia and Khalifa University of Science. An MOU has also been signed with Bait Al Khair, a charitable organization, with the view to supporting a specific category of UAE Nationals in finding suitable jobs. These memoranda enable the development of partnerships to provide services that support UAE National students and graduates.

The Ta’awon Programme (‘Ta’awon’ is Arabic for ‘co-operation’) that was developed and implemented in partnership with UAE University (UAEU) for the 2009/2010 academic year continued in 2010/2011. Designed to enhance industry collaboration with prominent universities in the UAE, the initiative embodies DUBAL’s commitment to giving UAEU students exceptional opportunities to work on genuine engineering problems by providing support for students enrolled in engineering colleges, with respect to their graduation projects. Through DUBAL, the students receive valuable industrial exposure. In return the students, with the help of their universities, invent solutions for real-life industrial applications, ideally providing cost-effective solutions for upgrading DUBAL’s existing process requirements. Through this investment in people, DUBAL is enriching both the students and the company itself: the students tackle real issues, giving them meaningful experience in the workplace, while simultaneously granting DUBAL access to the intellectual capacity and creativity of our country’s talented young engineers.

Community investment

In 2010 and 2011, DUBAL spent AED42.66 million (US$11.61 million) on CSR activities, corporate sponsorships, donations and promotions. The proportional spend is illustrated below.

2010 (‘000)

2011 (‘000)

US$ US$

Education 182 209

Sports/events 5,080 4,967

Donations 228 949

TOTAL 5,490 6,125

29 30

As a responsible corporate

citizen, DUBAL acts responsibly

and admirably to protect the

environment and safeguard the

well-being of our employees,

contractors, site visitors and

neighbouring communities. To this

end, all potential environmental

aspects, impacts and green

issues relating to our company’s

operations are monitored

closely – both by DUBAL and

independent authorities such

as the International Aluminium

Institute (IAI). Emissions are tightly

controlled with most internal

targets being well below the legal

requirements. A judicious capital

investment programme, designed

to sustain DUBAL’s competitive

advantage, is also in place.

Voluntary investments to minimise DUBAL’s impact on the environment have amounted to more than US$330 million since 2000. Of this, US$269 million was spent on emission control equipment, such as installing environmentally-friendly low oxides of nitrogen (NOx) burners in our large gas turbines — which reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions from 150 parts per million (ppm) to less than 25 ppm; an automated pot dig-out facility; and upgrading our baking kilns and fume treatment plants to ensure a safer and cleaner environment. Also, one of the critical raw materials we use for anode manufacturing has been changed entirely from solid- to liquid pitch — which poses fewer occupational health and safety hazards.

After a successful trial period, DUBAL signed a contract with an Indian company in late-2007 for the sale of 100 metric tonnes of petroleum coke fines every month

against the current production rate of 130 metric tonnes per month. This means that we are now able to recycle a large proportion of this waste material, generated by the Baking Kilns, thus enhancing our efforts to protect the environment by eliminating the need to dispose of the waste to the municipal landfill.

Environment, Health & Safety

Being an industrial operation whose activities and processes have inherent potential risks, DUBAL is conscious of the need to safeguard the environment and to protect the safety and health of both its employees and residents of the surrounding communities. Since 2001, our company has operated an integrated EHS department that is responsible for minimizing these risks and managing the plant’s performance in these areas. Various sub-structures are in place to facilitate the associated processes, including EHS Councils, EHS Steering Committee Meetings; and SHEQ Management Review Meetings.

Environmental management

In particular, we — as a company — acknowledge the importance of preserving precious natural resources and recognize that the primary aluminium production has an inherently large environmental footprint due to the energy-intensive nature of the process. Dedicated attention is therefore focused on protecting the environment around our operations by minimizing harmful air emissions and water-borne effluents, reducing our energy and water consumption levels through operating efficiencies, optimising raw material consumption levels,

Protectinga deep-seated awareness of our impact on local ecology, and adopting a “Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle” mentality to minimize waste.

We aim to improve DUBAL’s environmental performance continuously. This is evident in our Environmental Management System (EMS) having achieved, and maintained, ISO 14001 certification since 1999, the most recent re-certification having taken place mid-2011. In addition, DUBAL holds corporate membership of numerous environmental forums, such as United Nations for Environmental, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - since 2004; and EEG - since 1997.

A green belt concept has been implemented at our Jebel Ali site to enhance the physical environment and improve air quality. Specific areas have been identified, and more than 1,650 trees have been planted. Several species have been selected, notably Conocarpus lancifolius, Tamarix articulate, Casuarina equisetifolia, and Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Particular emphasis has been placed on the residential area where approximately 1,500 employees are accommodated and which is located downwind of the potrooms. After careful research, Indian Almond trees (Terminalia catappa) were selected for this area as their leaves also serve as indicators for fluoride emission levels.

An EIA was conducted as part of our one million tonne plus smelter feasibility studies. The aim of the EIA was to identify and quantify the additional environmental impacts that DUBAL might have due to the

31 32

increased productivity from the plant. All aspects of the environment were investigated, namely air, water, land, ecology and waste. The final recommendations from the EIA have been incorporated into DUBAL’s current environmental management programmes.

Optimizingrawmaterialconsumption

The major raw materials used for aluminium production are alumina (Al2O3), calcined petroleum coke (C P Coke), liquid coal tar pitch and alumina trifluoride (AlF3, also known as ATF). Large quantities of water and energy are also consumed, as detailed elsewhere.

Aiming to minimize resource consumption, DUBAL has set targets for improvement on selected raw materials wherever possible. Quality control measures have been put in place for all raw materials to ensure optimum performance

and productivity of the smelter, while minimizing the impact of our operations on the environment.

Alumina consumption, however, is directly related to the production of aluminium and therefore cannot be altered materially. There will always be a ratio of around 1.92 metric tonnes of alumina per metric tonne of aluminium produced.

Energyefficiency

Currently, the electrical energy requirement to run our Jebel Ali smelter is approximately 1,880 MW. Our captive power station ensures that DUBAL is virtually self-sufficient in terms of power generation; and provides valuable support to the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) via a 400 MW inter-tie arrangement, which can be used in either direction.

Aluminium production is a very energy-intensive process,

specifically in terms of electricity consumption, and we therefore place substantial emphasis on conserving energy through efficiency-improving measures. For example, by improving productivity in our potline operations, we have achieved a 6 per cent reduction (a 1.3 per cent reduction in 2011 alone) in the energy needed for electrolysis compared to 1990, resulting in an average smelting energy consumption (across all technologies) of 14.82 megawatt hours per metric tonne (MWh/mt) aluminium in 2010 and 14.71 MWh/mt in 2011).

Moreover, the thermal efficiency of the plant improved from 31.2 per cent in 1990 to 43.50 per cent in 2011 (42.9 per cent in 2010). This remarkable improvement in power station efficiency has resulted in increased power generation to produce hot metal, while the fuel requirement increment is proportionately less (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: DUBAL production increase vs. total fuel consumption.

Figure 5: DUBAL Power Plant installed capacity (megawatts).

Further evidencing our company’s ongoing commitment to energy conservation, DUBAL is a member of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), whose mandate includes, among others, rationalizing the use of energy and ensuring environmental sustainability through demand management initiatives and programmes. In this regard, DUBAL has whole-heartedly adopted the directives issued by H H Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum (President of Dubai Civil Aviation, Chairman of Emirates Airline Group, and Chairman of DSCE) to all DSCE member companies mid-April 2011 regarding the measures which the Dubai Government is taking to minimize energy consumption in Dubai, in fulfilment of the Emirate’s 2030 Energy Strategy. The DSCE has targeted four main initiatives: setting the cooling temperatures of air-conditioners to 24˚C during office hours and 27˚C after hours; switching of all unnecessary

lights after working hours; replacing normal light bulbs with energy-saving lights; and using solar energy to power water heaters. The success of DUBAL’s efforts in these areas are clear, with 6,942,760 kWh having been saved in the first nine months of implementing the directives (i.e. April to December 2011).

The DUBAL Suggestion Scheme (detailed on page 12) has included an energy-saving category since 2006, with a separate award structure for energy-related suggestions designed to motivate employees to think of ideas with the potential to conserve energy. In 2010 alone, energy-saving ideas implemented and awarded achieved audited financial savings of AED 1.79 million (US$ 0.49 million). A special energy-saving ideas campaign was held mid-2011, coincident with the implementation of the energy-saving directive from the DCSE.

In 2006, an analysis of the planned extension of DUBAL’s existing potlines indicated that the electricity generation requirements within the DUBAL complex would rise from the prevailing 1,620 MW to about 1,770 MW in 2008; and ultimately the prevailing 1,860 MW as of December 2010. The growth in power generation capacity is depicted in Figure 5. A feasibility study, conducted also in 2006, showed that DUBAL’s reserve capacity at that time would not be sufficient to cover the additional power demand. It was clear that an increase in the installed generation capacity of the DUBAL Power Plant complex was needed. The same study showed that the annual average generation efficiency of the DUBAL Power Plant complex could be improved substantially by installing a GTX Cogeneration Plant. Moreover, the annual fuel consumption for power generation

0

500

1000

1500

2000

1979-1982 1982-1989 1989-1995 1995-1998 1998-2002 2002-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2008 2008-2011

2500

Po

we

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be

nch

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%)

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200

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Power Total Fuel

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1400

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33 34

purposes could be reduced by

about 4 per cent. The expected

partial operation of the proposed

GTX Cogeneration Plant on distillate

oil due to possible gas shortages

in summer further improved the

profitability of the project.

The GTX Cogeneration Plant project

at DUBAL was completed by the

end of 2011. It has fulfilled its

primary objective of improving

the power generation efficiency

and decreasing the environmental

impact of the DUBAL Power Plant

complex through its integration

into the existing DUBAL Power Plant

infrastructure, thus enabling better

fuel utilization by increasing the

efficiency of electricity generation

and water production within the

complex; while minimizing NOx and

CO2 emissions. It has also increased

the total power generation capacity

of the DUBAL Power Plant to a level

that more than adequately covers

our operational needs.

Our in-house developed DX Technology (detailed on page 45), installed in a dedicated 40-cell potline, is currently operating at 380 kA. At this level, it offers significantly higher energy efficiency, with specific energy consumption of 13.1 kilowatt hours per kilogram (kWh/kg) aluminium and 95.1 per cent current efficiency. This translates into measurable energy conservation and associated operating cost reductions, as well as reduced environmental impact through lower fossil fuel consumption. After operating stably at 420 kA, the amperage of the five DX+ Reduction Technology pilot cells has been raised gradually to 440 kA, yielding substantially better energy efficiency and specific energy consumption levels than our DX Technology cells.

The IAI targeted a 10 per cent reduction in the use of direct current (DC) energy for electrolysis

Figure 6: DC energy use for electrolysis (1990 to 2010).

within the global aluminium industry

by 2010 (from 1990 levels). In 2010,

the energy consumption by our

plant, at 14.81 DC MWh/mt

aluminium was 5 per cent down on

the 15.59 DC MWh/mt aluminium

recorded in 1990 (see Figure 6).

Minimizingharmfulemissions

DUBAL employs the best available

technology for aluminium production

as well as for minimizing air

emissions, which are generated

primarily by our power plant and

smelting operations. Ambient air

monitoring stations are located

strategically throughout DUBAL’s

premises. The units measure a

number of parameters, including

emission levels of NOx, SO2, hydrogen

fluoride (HF) and particulate matter

(PM10). Recorded data is delivered

on-line to the Environmental

Laboratory every two hours,

enabling comprehensive reporting

and quick decision-making.

13.5

14.0

14.5

15.0

15.5

16.0

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010

MW

h D

C /

t A

l

DUBAL Performance IAI SDI target

35 36

DUBAL’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – which primarily comprise CO2 and perfluorocarbons (PFCs) – are closely monitored. With regard to PFC emissions, our smelter and power operations emitted 0.263 million metric tonnes and 0.125 million metric tonnes of CO2eq in 2010 and 2011 respectively (a 52 per cent improvement, year-on-year). The main sources of GHGs at DUBAL are mobile equipment and vehicles; natural gas consumed in the furnaces, baking kilns and rodding room; anode consumption during the aluminium reduction process; PFC emissions from abnormal pot operating conditions (‘anode effects’), either as tetrafluoromethane (CF4) or hexafluoroethane (C2F6) which have a GHG warming potential respectively of 6,500 and 9,200 times greater than CO2; and our power generation activities.

A programme has been initiated to facilitate stricter control over anode effects and thereby reduce PFC emissions. The primary aim of the programme is to decrease the number and duration of anode effects, through changes in alumina feeding mechanisms, thus minimizing the generation of PFCs. It is estimated that the programme will minimize our annual GHG emissions by approximately 20,000 metric tonnes of CO2eq.

This will support DUBAL’s efforts to achieve the IAI’s target to reduce PFC emissions by 80 per cent by 2010 and 93 per cent by 2020 (from 1990 levels). By 2008, DUBAL had achieved a 77 per cent reduction in PFC emissions (compared to 1990), to 0.034 kg PFC/t aluminium. Although, the power outage incident in November 2008 interrupted this trend, PFC emissions since then have continued to fall and in 2011 the tCo2 eq/t aluminium was 88 per cent lower than in 1990 (see Figure 7).

Carbonmanagement

Acknowledging that CO2 is the most common GHG and therefore the main cause of global warming, DUBAL in 2009 developed a 2015 Carbon Management Strategy (CMS) and Implementation Plan that will help our company reduce our carbon footprint by targeting reductions in carbon consumption and emissions from every aspect of our business. Our CMS and implementation plan outlines how we will undertake programmes to raise awareness about climate change and carbon emissions; implement systems to measure its emissions; identify carbon reduction and abatement options; and continually improve our carbon performance.

Already, the combined cycle power systems at DUBAL have reduced CO2 emissions marginally (through increased steam turbine generation, higher efficiencies and therefore lower consumption of hydrocarbon fuel energy). Reduced distillate usage as an emergency energy source has also made a positive contribution.

Importantly, in terms of the United Nations Framework for Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) Kyoto Protocol, DUBAL has already registered an initiative to reduce emission levels of PFCs as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. Moreover, as a member of the DSCE and Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE), DUBAL is working closely towards new carbon projects originators, especially in conjunction with DCCE, to identify suitable platforms to reduce the financial liability upon the end-user of high efficiency upgrades. As such, the DCCE will assist the DSCE in consolidating programme activities to avail carbon credits to ensure financial additionality of such initiatives and projects.

DUBAL is presently working closely with the DCCE on several CDM projects, five of which featured at the DCCE’s first consultative event in May this year. The event was held with the assistance and support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and aimed to showcase the immediate carbon abatement projects currently pursued within the Emirate. It attracted diverse delegates with a common interest in the project-based CDM, whereby activities resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions and thus climate change mitigation earn Certified Emission Reduction (CER) credits for each tonne of reduced CO2 emission; and the credits can be traded and used to raise funds for new green technologies in developing countries. CDM projects should also improve local/regional conditions through improvement in air quality,

Our power generation activities generate carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), SO2, NOx and PM10. The choice of a combined cycle power system has enabled marginal reductions in CO2 emissions (through higher efficiencies) through lower consumption of hydrocarbon energy. As of December 2010, roughly 30 per cent of DUBAL’s entire power generating needs (more than 510 MW out of 1,860 MW) has been supplied through steam turbines.

Moreover, DUBAL uses gas as a main fuel source, secured through long-term contract, which is the ‘cleanest’ of the fossil fuel types (as indicated by lower emission volumes of SO2, NOx and PM10). The installation of six state-of- the-art combustion systems (low NOx burners (DLN1)) in the existing large power plant and the additional new built-in gas turbine burners has reduced our NOx emissions in line with world standards: accordingly the overall plant level of NOx

emission at DUBAL dropped by 6 per cent between 2008 and 2011. Over the two-year review period, our total SO2 emissions increased in line with increased production levels, however the metric tonnage of SO2 emitted per metric tonne of aluminium decreased measurably due to reduced consumption of distillate fuel and lower sulphur content in the petroleum coke used.

The major air emission from our smelting operation is HF, which is a particularly noxious gas. Under normal operations, chemical recycling via high-efficiency Fume Treatment Plants (FTPs) helps contain the plant’s hydrogen fluoride emission levels. Indeed, in a 2005 benchmarking study, DUBAL had the second-lowest level of fluoride emissions resulting from the production of anodes. The company placed first in the particulate fluoride category, had the second-best performing smelter and rated third for total fluoride emissions.

Following the increase in the volume of HF emitted in 2008 and 2009 as a result of the re-commissioning of the potlines following the power outage incident in November 2008, our overall fluoride emissions have resumed the downward trend of prior years. In 2011, our total flouride emissions, at 0.56 kg/tonne aluminium were 11.6 per cent down on 2010 (0.63 kg/tonne aluminium) and 38 per cent lower than in 2000.

To ensure stricter management of our air emissions, our on-site ambient air quality monitoring system has been extended and improved. The system includes a HF Monitoring Network, which provides real-time data for HF emissions — thus enabling quick remedial action in response to any changes detected. A Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) has been installed in all our potlines and the total fluoride emissions from our Jebel Ali site for 2011 was 0.55 kg/mt aluminium (our ultimate target is less than this).

Figure 7: PFC emissions (kg PFC/mt aluminium) at DUBAL (1990 to 2011).

0.000

0.020

0.040

0.060

0.080

0.100

0.120

0.140

0.160

0.180

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020

PF

C E

mis

sio

n, k

g/m

t o

f A

l

DUBAL Progress IAI - SDI Reqmt

37 38

work safety, strengthening local industry and economy, sustainable development and energy efficiency. The DCCE currently has a project pipeline with the capacity to reduce annual emissions by more than 1.7 million tonnes CO2.

Watermanagement

Our smelter operation at Jebel Ali is unique in that we generate our own electricity and produce our own water. Our plant is not only self-sufficient in terms of these resources, but is also able to supply both to off-site concerns.

Large volumes of seawater are abstracted from the Arabian Gulf by our operations, of which approximately 74 per cent is used for cooling purposes and the remaining 26 per cent is desalinated using a multi-stage flash evaporator. The water returned to the sea comprises cooling water (78 per cent) and brine discharge (22 per cent) from the desalination process. As the brine discharge is typically hotter and more saline than the surrounding seawater at the discharge point, the two types of water discharge are combined and cooled to ensure it is within environmental standards before being returned to the ocean.

To ensure uniform dilution of warm water with open cold seawater, and avoid re-entrance of warm water into the process, a seawater diversion has been implemented. Financial returns are achieved through greater steam turbines power generation and water production.

Our desalination plant produces two types of water: distilled water (12 per cent of the total), the bulk of which is used for industrial applications within DUBAL; and potable water, of which a small proportion is used for on-site domestic requirements. The major

proportion of the potable water we produce (84 per cent in 2011) is sold to external customers via our dedicated water tanker filling station, or via pipelines to DEWA and adjacent industries.

Despite the ready availability of water at DUBAL, our company consciously strives to conserve and recycle this precious resource. For example, the water tanker filling station has been re-engineered to capture spilled water, which is now used to irrigate the landscaped areas within our site. Extensive use is also made of recycled grey water (treated sewage effluent from our on-site plant) to meet our irrigation needs. In this regard, improvements to the sewerage treatment plant operations yielded increased volumes of grey water in 2011, effectively reducing DUBAL’s reliance on potable water for irrigation purposes.

In addition, the desalination plant has installed additional flow meters and water-saving devices throughout DUBAL to better manage our water consumption; while preventative maintenance helps minimize water wastage and losses.

Wastemanagement

In compliance with DUBAL’s ISO 14001 certification and legal requirements, a comprehensive Waste Management System is in operation. This includes waste segregation at source, transportation, contractor compliance and appropriate handling and treatment of hazardous materials.

Most of the waste generated by our operations (by weight) comprises spent pot lining (SPL) and spent anodes. Other waste includes dross metal, scrap metal and non-hazardous process waste; plus hazardous medical and liquid waste. The volume of waste generated in 2010, at 34,648 metric tonnes, was

21 per cent lower than in 2009; and declined further to 29,411 metric tonnes in 2011.

Waste recovery and recycling remain key areas of focus. About 1,000 tonnes of aluminium scrap was recovered and 13,000 tonnes of spent anodes were recovered in 2011 — a large proportion of which was fed back into the production process as raw material. Other waste streams are recycled, landfilled or treated on site. For example, the liquid waste from our Jebel Ali site is treated on-site and the sludge residue is disposed of at a hazardous waste landfill site. No DUBAL waste is shipped internationally.

Good progress was made during the review period in terms of recycling SPL-refractory material as an alternative fuel and raw material (AFR) for the cement industry. Some 4,000 metric tonnes of SPL had been processed through cement companies by the end of 2010, with a contract having been signed to process a further 3,000 metric tonnes. During 2011, a total of 12,078 metric tonnes of SPL was processed through cement companies.

In 2011, DUBAL’s commitment to sustainable development and environmental protection was strongly reiterated by the initiation of a waste reduction drive with the ultimate objective of zero waste to landfill in the near future. The initiative is spearheaded by a Waste Management Committee, established mid-year with the mandate to implement the initiative. The committee will, in consultation with various areas, develop action plans to DUBAL’s waste management goals. Regular meetings will be held to discuss initiatives, make plans, share ideas and track progress.

Importantly, DUBAL’s strategies for waste management are fully aligned with the global shift from waste

disposal to waste management. Already, many countries have developed and implemented plans to reduce their dependence on landfills and increase recycling. Here in Dubai, it has been reported that the excessive number of migratory birds attracted to the food waste at the Jebel Ali landfill site is a cause of serious concern to the Aviation Department, which has called for the closure of the site in near future.

Ecologyandbiodiversity

The 20 square-kilometre Jebel Ali Wildlife Sanctuary is located approximately 7 kilometres from our smelter operations. The coral communities in this conservation site are considered the most diverse in the region and therefore of national ecological importance. An EIA undertaken at our operations found that the water discharged from DUBAL (brine after desalination) has a localised impact and will not affect the sanctuary.

Our site is immediately adjacent to several other major industrial corporations, such as the Jebel Ali Port, oil refineries and so forth. The combined impact of our operations on local plant and animal communities has been fairly severe, with little natural habitat remaining. To redress the situation, DUBAL is actively pursuing opportunities to restore the habitat and create aesthetically pleasing boundaries to the site. This includes the green belt concept mentioned under “Environmental management” on page 30.

As part of our commitment to implementing DUBAL’s core environment management policy and fulfilling the Dubai government’s requirements, together with the evolving structural developments offshore from our site plus worldwide climate changes and the increased incidence of Red Tide in

the region, DUBAL has installed an online remote system to monitor the seawater quality off our coastline.

The new system comprises an unmanned, anchored, floating buoy equipped with on-board instrumentation and data collection, storage and transmission devices, batteries, solar cells and battery charging unit, warning navigation light, RADAR reflectors, lightning diodes, GPS positioning, GSM connectivity, and mooring structures. It uses the Etisalat GSM network to communicate to the land stations.

Working online and remotely, the system monitors, in real-time, four offshore variables (salinity, temperature T, dissolved oxygen and pH); plus two measurements which will give an indication of possible Red Tide presence (chlorophyll, blue-green algae). The measurements are taken at the ocean surface at two different zones: Zone 01 – 300 metres from DUBAL’s shore; and Zone 02 – 1,500 metres from DUBAL’s shore. The measurements and analysed variables are transmitted to DUBAL and Dubai Municipality stations independently every hour.

In February 2011, a DUBAL delegation visited the Turtle Rehabilitation Unit at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, to increase our knowledge regarding sea turtles and establishing best practice for dealing with turtles that are found in the stilling-chambers of our Power and Desalination Plants from time to time. Using this as a basis, new guidelines have been introduced at DUBAL for rescuing marine turtles trapped accidentally by our operations.

Going forward, DUBAL is committed to continually performing marine surveys, monitoring the plant’s effluents and deploying independent technical expertise to ensure that the impact of our operations on the environment is minimized.

Employee Health and Safety

From the outset, DUBAL has placed the highest priority on ensuring the occupational health and safety of the company’s employees and contractors.

Formal policies and procedures are in place; and personal protective equipment appropriate to each area of operation is issued to employees and contractors (including hard hats, goggles, hearing protection, heat-resistant gloves, industrial boots, masks with particulate and gas filters, and process-resistant garments).

DUBAL officially maintains the OSHAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System, having been re-certified to OSHAS 18001:2007 in 2009.

39 40

Occupationalhealthandhygiene

Acknowledging that there are several health risks inherent in the aluminium production process, DUBAL has introduced policies to improve the monitoring and management of our employees’ general health. For instance, all employees working in operational areas undergo a series of medical tests every two years, allowing the early detection of any occupation-related health illnesses, abnormalities or unusual circumstances.

With regard to occupational health and hygiene (OHH) in particular, special emphasis is placed on reducing exposure to the prevailing risks — particularly noise-induced hearing loss, inhalation of hazardous gases and dust particles, and exposure to high ambient temperatures. Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) is issued to employees to mitigate the risks of their respective occupations and places of work. This includes heat and flame-retardant uniforms, hard hats, gloves, boots, eye and ear protection, and customised respiratory protection facilities.

Since the start of the new millennium, our company has actively pursued a quest to reduce the number of lost working days due to heat rash and heat stress cases within our workforce. The initiative has gained additional emphasis since 2006, evolving into the dedicated “Beat the Heat” campaign. During the review period, the campaign continued to deliver excellent results: zero lost days as a result of heat rash were recorded in both 2010 and 2011 (i.e. the fourth and fifth consecutive years); as were zero lost days as a result of heat stress (i.e. for the fifth and sixth consecutive years). Aiming to redress the higher number of incidents in the summer months,

the 2011 campaign was renamed “Beat the Heat and Be Safe”. A “Healthy and Safe Lifestyle” sub-campaign endorsed the importance of proper nutrition, hydration, moderate exercise, adequate rest, and appropriate personal hygiene to maximize individual health during the warmer months of summer.

Other initiatives implemented and managed by our dedicated Occupational Health and Hygiene department include:

• Profiling job descriptions with regard to potentially harmful physical and chemical hazards in the working environment and monitoring worker exposure.

• Pre-employment medical examinations, including chest x-rays, audiograms, optometric assessments and lung function tests.

• Regular follow-up medical examinations for early detection of medical conditions, scheduled according to workplace exposure to potentially harmful physical and chemical hazards.

• An ongoing awareness campaign to raise understanding of and personal accountability for illnesses and conditions such as diabetes, swine influenza, obesity, high blood pressure and so forth.

Safety

From a safety perspective, DUBAL consistently strives for a lost-time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) and fatal injury frequency rate (FIFR) of zero (measured per million hours). While not yet achieved, these targets remain non-negotiable and have resulted in an overall improvement in our company’s safety performance over the years. The Total Recordable Injury

Frequency Rate (TRIFR, comprising lost time injuries, restricted work and medical treatments per million hours) has declined from 13.12 in 2004 to 4.21 in 2010 and 3.64 in 2011. Our LTIFR was 0.22 in 2010 and 0.11 in 2011, making DUBAL the international benchmark, compared to our peers (i.e. large aluminium smelters). Overall, a 95.5 per cent drop in LTIs has been achieved since 2004 (see Figure 8).

Given that the main risks are heavy machinery and vehicles, extremely hot molten metal and high amperage electrical circuits, the formal interventions include:

• Safety training for all new recruits, with follow-up refresher training at appropriate intervals; plus training for contractors’ employees.

• Restricted access to operational sites.

• Safety-driven operating rules within the facility, including strict occupational hygiene standards.

• Campaigns to reinforce awareness of DUBAL’s safety regulations.

• Reporting systems for risky behaviour and potential hazards, which have led to substantially less lost time incidents as well as a reduction in the severity of incidents.

Overall the total number of lost days due to OHH-related causes decreased to 228 and 22 days in 2010 and 2011 respectively, compared to 473 days in 2006.

On 11 July 2011, regular employees within our smelter operations achieved a safety record of 7.54 million man-hours worked (314 days) without a lost time injury (LTI). This was our second significant achievement in three years, having

41 42

achieved 10.3 million man-hours worked (399 days) without an LTI in May 2009. The 2011 milestone approximated 42.5 million man-hours when the safety performance of contractors’ employees engaged for project work on the site, over the same time period, is factored in. However, an incident in the Power & Desalination area on 12 July 2011 resulted in an LTI, such that the counter returned to zero. A clean safety record, without any LTI, was achieved in the remaining months of the year.

Our new behaviour-based safety system — Tamahal (Arabic for ‘slow down’) — has been rolled out across our operations. The system aims to encourage employees to take the time to observe whether or not everything is safe before they proceed. The system uses awareness sessions, formal training sessions, coaching and mentoring, feedback meetings, recognition and rewards in a psychological process to address basic employee needs

while emphasising the importance of safe behaviour. To ensure the most positive results are obtained, employees are engaged and consulted in the process; and guided in a positive way towards safer behaviour practices.

In keeping with the importance placed by DUBAL on employee safety, ongoing effort is made to increase understanding of individual responsibilities in this area. Two targeted campaigns were held in 2010, namely a Road Safety Awareness Week; and a Tamahal, Don’t Take Shortcuts campaign. The latter highlighted the fact that taking a shortcut is an unsafe act, which may lead to serious injuries. By contrast, taking the time to do things the proper way averts incidents. The five major causes of incidents were highlighted, along with reiteration of the correct procedures.

As mentioned earlier, our 2011 summer occupational health and hygiene programme targeted more

than heat-related illnesses. Entitled “Beat the Heat and Be Safe”, the campaign also aimed to reduce the total number of recordable injuries (TRIs) during the summer months. This objective was reached, as evidenced by a 36 per cent decline TRIs during the summer months (May to October) in 2011 compared to 2010.

The annual DUBAL Safety Awards were also launched and awarded for the first time in 2011. This initiative supports our ongoing quest for significant improvement in our safety performance so as to bring us substantially closer to our target of zero injuries by intensifying focus on the principles of behaviour-based safety. The awards will play a key role in this process by recognizing and rewarding those departments, teams and contractors who contribute meaningfully towards improving our safety behaviour and thus our company’s overall safety performance.

DUBALMedicalCentre

DUBAL Medical Centre (DMC) is one of the most modern medical centres at an industrial site in the UAE. It provides healthcare services to all employees under the guidance of highly experienced and qualified medical professionals supported by specially trained medical and administrative staff.

The DMC operates 24 hours-a-day and is fully fledged, with the most modern medical equipment and facilities such as X-ray, laboratory, defibrillators and ambulances with in-built/mobile clinical facilities. The DMC provides primary healthcare, occupational health surveillance, emergency services and in-patient services, with a capacity of five beds and two private rooms. The number of visits to DMC exceeded 25,000 in 2011.

The DMC provides medical treatment to all acute cases, chronic cases, industrial and non-industrial injuries, and occupation-related diseases. The medical officers are available daily to provide medical treatment to all DUBAL employees and their families, from 07:00 to 20:00 Sundays to Thursdays; and 08:00 to 12:00 Saturdays. In addition, DMC provides full assistance to all DUBAL employees and their authorized dependants with regard to medical insurance (approvals, re-imbursement of medical claims) and other related issues. The DMC also follows-up all cases of medical termination and workmen’s compensation claims, for early and appropriate settlement. Regular follow-up meetings are conducted regarding long-term sickness cases, whereupon DMC decides on rehabilitation and early return to their respective departments.

As mentioned earlier, a dedicated OHH department works closely with DMC and is responsible for matters

relating to employees’ occupational health and hygiene. Its activities include a systematic programme that monitors the effects of substances and environmental conditions that could be hazardous or detrimental to employees’ health (such as dust, gas, noise and heat).

In 2010, personnel from the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) conducted research into the impact of industrial noise on hearing and the physical effects of heat on our employees’ health. The findings have helped improve our OHH department’s existing OHH programmes and prevent further harm to our employees as a result of either noise or heat.

Asset Protection and Business Continuity

DUBAL has completed the implementation of both phases of a comprehensive Crisis/ Emergency and Business Continuity Management System (DCEBCMS) to ensure effective control of any crisis, emergency situation or business interruption. Teams have been formalized at various levels in the organization in order to reduce the risks (a proactive approach) and prompt structured response in case of any emergency business situations.

The second phase of the DCEBCMS began in 2008 and involved building the Business Continuity part of the system for DUBAL. This entailed two steps — Business Impact Analysis (BIA); and preparation of Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) — which were completed with the assistance of consultants from Australia during 2009. A dedicated Business Continuity Management (BCM) team has since been appointed.

Our Assets Protection department has also installed a fully integrated electronic access control system, including surveillance cameras and

closed circuit television (CCTV). This development will ensure that our site complies with UAE legal requirements while enhancing business security management.

Following the power outage incident in November 2008, our Power operations has developed and implemented several infrastructural and system changes. Together, these initiatives will prevent occurrence of a similar incident.

Figure 8: Total recordable injury frequency rate (2004 to 2011).

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2

4

6

8

10

12

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

14 13.2

10.1

11.65

6.085.65

4.27 4.21

3.64

43 44

Operating performance

DUBAL’s annual hot metal production in 2011 amounted to 1,014,795 metric tonnes, up 1.3 per cent on the 1,002,014 metric tonnes achieved in 2010 — the latter marking the first time that our company exceeded the one million metric tonne milestone in a single year; while the volume of cast metal products manufactured in 2011, a record 1,055,310 metric tonnes, rose by 1.17 per cent year-on-year (2010: 1,043,104 metric tonnes). In total, 1,032,545 metric tonnes of product was sold in 2011 – 1.7 per cent higher than in 2010 (1,015,520 metric tonnes) and the highest-ever in DUBAL’s history.

Since its inception in 1979, DUBAL has evolved into the world’s largest

Advancingsingle-site smelter using pre-bake anode technology. Over the years, our company has undergone a series of sequential expansions, resulting in the number of aluminium reduction cells within our Jebel Ali plant increasing from 360 in three potlines at start-up to a current total of 1,573 cells in seven potlines.

These expansions, using in-house developed technologies together with amperage increase and efficiency improvements (known as ‘creep’), have resulted in compound annual growth in production of more than 9 per cent since 1995. Continued growth in hot metal production is expected, driven by further creep, such that DUBAL’s inherent hot metal production capacity now exceeds one million metric tonnes per annum. The growth trend is depicted in Figure 9.

Several major production milestones were achieved during the review period, notably:

• DUBAL’s production of more than one million metric tonnes of hot, molten aluminium in a single year for the first time in 2010, and again in 2011; and

• Casthouse production exceeding one million metric tonnes in one year, for the second and third consecutive years (2010 and 2011).

DUBAL’s Marketing & Sales infrastructure has played a key role in DUBAL’s continued growth over the years, by ensuring that the company’s entire annual production is pre-sold. This is achieved through the delivery of sustained product and service excellence to existing customers, coupled with continuous

Figure 9: Growth in smelter capacity (1980 to 2011).

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400

600

1,000

800

1980 1990 1996 1999 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

1,200

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city

(kt

pa

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68

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761

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89

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970

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45 46

involvement in this area entailed the development of a comprehensive DX Technology package; delivery of our proprietary, in-house developed DUBAL pot control and potline supervision system; technical assistance on-site; and a training or familiarization programme for EMAL personnel in all fields of a smelter’s activity. DX+ Technology has since been specified for the 444-cell potline of EMAL Phase II; and its installation will enjoy support from DUBAL of similar scope and scale.

Market penetration

DUBAL markets its high quality products throughout the world, largely through direct dealings with more than 300 customers in at least 50 countries on six continents across the world. The key markets served by our company are Asia; the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Middle East and Africa; Europe; and The Americas. (see Figure 10).

During the two-year review period, measurable success was achieved in penetrating the South American market. In 2011, a total of 14,670 metric tonnes of DUBAL products were shipped to South America. Good growth is expected in this market, with sales of 25,000 metric tonnes forecast in 2012 – mainly in Brazil, Chile and Venezuela.

Our marketing strategy is to sell directly to end-users wherever possible. A network of sales facilitators has nevertheless been established in key markets, where a direct sales force is not practical or untenable. Freight forwarders and warehouses facilitate the delivery of finished products to the customer’s plant, especially in Europe.

We also have four subsidiary businesses: DUBAL America Inc., DUBAL Korea Inc., DUBAL Europe AG (in Switzerland), and DUBAL EU Imports SRL (in Italy) — the latter established during the review period. These enterprises play a vital role in these markets.

Emphasis is placed on developing and nurturing strong, enduring links with customers. The result is long-term relationships that promote joint interests. We are very proud of our professional UAE-based Marketing and Sales team, which comprises UAE Nationals who have been trained by DUBAL in collaboration with the world’s best institutes and universities over the past few years, and who have extensive knowledge of the markets and our products. This team represents the company, internationally, at the highest level.

The expertise of our Marketing and Sales team was clearly demonstrated by the successful

and aggressive exploration of new markets – DUBAL’s production flexibility, manufacturing versatility to accommodate changing market needs, innovation and market expertise playing a key role in both instances.

In addition, DUBAL is responsible for the marketing and sales of aluminium products manufactured by EMAL. This amounted to 288,568 metric tonnes in 2010 and 748,000 metric tonnes in 2011, all of which was pre-sold while the EMAL Phase I smelter complex was still under construction. EMAL products – comprising high quality aluminium which is available as sow, standard ingots, sheet ingots and extrusion billets – are currently supplied to more than 200 customers in 30 countries around the world.

Technological innovation

The years 2010 and 2011 have been key in the development of DUBAL’s proprietary DX Technology, the successful and sustained performance of which has not only been demonstrated on an industrial scale in Potline 8 of DUBAL but has also been brought to the level of the best available technologies available today in our industry.

In 2006, when DUBAL decided to build a demonstration line of 40 DX Technology pots at our

smelter in Jebel Ali. This potline, re-named Potline 8, was started-up in February 2008 with the following objectives:

• Being a demonstration line;

• Achieving world-class performances; and

• Being a training platform for personnel of EMAL personnel and future projects.

All these objectives have been achieved, making DX Technology a flagship innovation of the UAE. Operating stably at high amperages, DX Technology reduction cells offer several benchmark attributes that provide significant advantages, notably (at 380 kA plus):

• Superb productivity of 2.87 metric tonnes of aluminium/pot/day plus at exceptionally high purity levels of better than 99.92 per cent, giving rapid returns on capital expenditure; plus excellent creep potential, promising even better yields per pot.

• An energy-efficient design that enables specific energy consumption of 13.25 kilowatt hours/kilogram Al and 95.1 per cent current efficiency, together contributing to energy conservation and associated operating cost reductions

• Reduced environmental impact through lower fossil fuel consumption (a direct benefit of enhanced energy-efficiency) and reduced carbon consumption (anodes) of less than 0.408 kilograms carbon/kilogram aluminium. Moreover, DX Technology cells experience minimal anode effects (0.07 AE/pot/day), resulting in perfluorocarbon emissions of less than 0.015 CO2eq metric tonnes/metric tonne of Al.

• Fully engineered versatility — featuring proven magnetically efficient busbar configuration, anode configuration, superstructure, shell and lining designs, process controls and operational practices — allowing operating capability plus inherent potential for developing even higher amperage performance capacity.

Through ongoing research and development, DUBAL’s DX Technology cells have been re-designed to enable operation at even higher amperages. Five new generation cells, built in the pilot line at Jebel Ali, began operating at 420 kA at the end of August 2010. Mid-2011, the amperage of these pilot cells was increased gradually and reached 440 kA in February 2012, with stable results.

The improved technology — known as DX+ Technology — is based directly on the proven, inherently robust DX Technology. The industrial version is targeted to achieve specific energy consumption of less than 12.98 kWh/kg Al; with the average yield per pot expected to be 3.4 mt/day. The AE frequency is very low but, more importantly, DUBAL’s proprietary advanced control logic restricts the average duration of AEs to less than 10 seconds (a world benchmark for lowering PFC emissions).

DX Technology was licensed to and installed in the 756 cells of EMAL Phase I smelter complex at Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi. DUBAL’s

Figure 10: Market penetration, 2011.

Figure 11: DUBAL’s product mix, 2011.

sales of more than one million metric tonnes of EMAL products during the review period, all pre-sold during the construction of EMAL Phase I (where commissioning began on 1 December 2009 and full operational status was achieved on 31 December 2010). The increased responsibility of the team in terms of the combined sales of DUBAL and EMAL has been fulfilled by developing and implementing an innovative strategy in which the UAE primary aluminium industry is marketed as a whole. This allows maximum flexibility to fulfil customers’ requirements, as well as optimum opportunities to cross-sell the complementary product portfolios. Parallel support for the development of the downstream aluminium sector in the UAE is further contributing to the country’s establishment as a major hub in the global aluminium industry; not to mention contributing to the fulfilment of the UAE’s vision to continuously diversify the national economy away from dependence on the oil sector.

Today, DUBAL is widely acclaimed as one of the world’s top producers of both automotive foundry and high-purity ingot; and is among the world’s leaders in the production of extrusion billet. In total, the company manufactures more than 330 individual product lines, of which more than 70 are made to customer specifications. Extrusion billet production, at just over 635,809 metric tonnes, was the highest-ever and accounted for 61 per cent of total production in 2011. Foundry alloy production represented 30 per cent of the total, with pure and high purity metal accounting for 6 per cent. Anode bars and busbars accounted for the balance (see Figure 11).

New products are introduced to our portfolio on a regular basis to cater for market needs. In 2010 and 2011, billets of substantially larger diameter (355 mm and 406 mm) were added to our market offering.

13%

38%27%

22%

Asia

Local, GCC, Middle East, Africa

India subcontinent & others

Europe

The Americas

61%

30%

3%6%

Billet

Foundry

Super High andHigh purity

Others

47 48

Brazil

Guinea

Cameroon

UAE

In support of our previously stated vision to become one of the top five primary aluminium producers in the world by 2015, we have taken a two-pronged approach:

• Expanding our core smelting operations, both organically and through green-field developments through our joint venture with Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala); and

• Pursuing upstream investments to secure a portion of our alumina requirements.

Additional smelting operations

Our major smelter development project is EMAL, a 50:50 joint venture with Mubadala, which was established in February 2007 to construct what will become the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelter complex. The EMAL complex, a 6 sq. km site in the Khalifa Port Industrial Zone in Al Taweelah, half-way between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, will produce primary aluminium with a product mix of sow, standard ingot, tee ingot, extrusion billet and sheet ingot.

The project is being built in two Phases. Energizing of the 756 reduction cells in EMAL Phase I, with a total capacity of 750,000 metric tonnes per annum, took place between 1 December 2009 and 31 December 2010 — with full production being reached four months ahead of schedule, yet within budget. EMAL Phase II project was approved in July 2011. A new 444-cell potline is being built which, together with a technology upgrade of the existing cells, will increase EMAL’s annual production capacity to 1.3 million metric tonnes by the end of 2014. DUBAL DX Technology has been licensed to and installed at EMAL Phase I; while DX+ Technology has been specified for EMAL Phase II (see pages 45 and 46).

Being the largest industrial project in the UAE outside the oil and gas industry, the project will encourage

Smelter projects

Upstream projects

economic diversification through downstream opportunities; and benefit the UAE economy through job creation. Importantly, EMAL adheres to strict environmental standards set by the Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency, with state-of the-art emission control equipment including sulphur- dioxide scrubbers, the latest potroom gas treatment technology, the best-available gas turbine systems, and cooling towers to eliminate thermal stress on local marine life.

DUBAL is responsible for marketing the metal produced by EMAL. This amounted to 288,568 metric tonnes of cast aluminium in 2010, and 748,000 metric tonnes in 2011.

In addition to EMAL, DUBAL is reviewing, together with Mubadala and partners, other aluminium projects which, after feasibility studies are completed, will also benefit from DUBAL technology, project execution and operational expertise.

Upstream projects

With regards to alumina feedstock, DUBAL is in partnerships to develop strategic upstream bauxite/alumina projects, including:

• Companhia Alumina do Pará (“CAP”), Brazil — This is a joint venture with Norsk Hydro of Norway to build an alumina refinery in Brazil close to Alunorte refinery (the biggest in the world). The CAP refinery will have an initial capacity of 1.86 metric tonnes per annum, expandable to 7.4 metric tonnes. DUBAL holds 19 per cent equity in the joint venture and additionally has secured 200,000 metric tonnes commercial alumina off-take for four years from Norsk Hydro.

• Guinea Alumina Corporation (“GAC”), Republic of Guinea — This project entails the development of an alumina refinery with associated bauxite mine in the Republic of Guinea. DUBAL has a 25 per cent equity stake in the project as well as an off-take of 40 per cent of the production. This project is a joint venture with BHP Billiton, Mubadala and the original promoters, Global Alumina.

• Cameroon Alumina Limited (“CAL”), Cameroon — DUBAL (45 per cent), Hindalco of India (45 per cent) and Hydromine of USA (10 per cent) have formed this joint venture company to exploit the 500 million metric tonnes bauxite ore in Cameroon and build an alumina refinery.

Our investments

49 50

We now have virtual certainty of achieving that quantitative milestone. Accordingly, we have revisited our corporate vision “to be one of the best companies in the global aluminium industry in production, markets, people and results by 2020”. Rather than purely chasing size, we are now focusing on doing everything to the very best, most exacting standards, as outlined below:

• Production– Operational Excellence; World-class Technology; High quality, Efficiency & Productivity

• Markets – Exceed Customer Expectations; Quality Products and Services; Earn Market/Product Premiums

• People – Recognised as Employer of Choice; Opportunities for UAE Nationals; Quality, Motivated People

• Results – Superior Profitability; Shareholder Value Creation; Economic Contribution to Dubai

As stated on page 3, the DUBAL vision formulated in 2005 is “to be among the world’s top five primary aluminium producers by 2015”.

DUBAL’s strategic vision

51 52

HH His Highness

HPT High Performance Team

HR Human Resources

IAI International Aluminium Institute

ICD Investment Corporation of Dubai

ILM Institute of Leadership and Management

ISO International Organization for Standardisation

IP Intellectual Property

iPOTS Internet POTS

IT Information Technology

ITGAF IT Governance Assurance Forum

ITSM Information Technology Service Management

JUSE Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers

kA Kilo-Amperes

kg/mt Kilograms per metric tonne

kWh/kg Kilowatt hours per kilogram

LME London Metal Exchange

LSS Lean Six Sigma

LTI Lost Time Injury

LTIFR Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (per million man-hours)

MEBA Middle East Business Award

MENA Middle East North Africa

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MRM Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Awards

MSS Management Self Services

MWh/mt Megawatt hours per metric tonne

NO2 Nitrogen dioxide

NOx Oxides of nitrogen

OHH Occupational Health and Hygiene

OSHAS Occupational Safety and Health Administration System

PFC Perfluorocarbon

PGA Professional Golf Association

PM Particulate Matter

ppm Parts Per Million

QA Quality Assurance

QC Quality Control

SAP Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing

SAT Self-Actuated Team

SHEQ Safety, Health, Environment and Quality

SPL Spent Pot Lining

SO2 Sulphur dioxide

TRIFR Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate

TRIs Total Recordable Injuries

UAE United Arab Emirates

UAEU UAE University

UCC Union Cement Company

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNESCO United Nations for Environmental, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNFCCC United Nations Framework for Climate Change Convention

US$ United States Dollar

USA United States of America

GlossaryAE Anode Effect

AED Arab Emirates Dirhams

AFR Alternative Fuel and Raw Material

ARABAL Arab Aluminium

ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations

ATM Automated Teller Machine

BCM Business Continuity Management

BCP Business Continuity Plan

BE Business Excellence

BIA Business Impact Analysis

BSC Balanced Scorecard

CAL Cameroon Alumina Limited

CAP Companhia Alumina do Pará

CCTV Closed Circuit Televisions

CDM Clean Development Mechanism

CEMS Continuous Emissions Monitoring System

CEO Chief Executive Officer

CER Certified Emission Reduction

CII Continual Improvement and Innovation Symposium

CIT Continuous Improvement Team

CMS Carbon Management Strategy

CO Carbon monoxide

CO2 Carbon dioxide

COT Customer Order Tracking

CRU Commodities Research Unit

CSR Corporate Social Responsibility

DC Direct Current

DCCE Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence

DCEBCMS DUBAL Crisis/Emergency and Business Continuity Management System

DEWA Dubai Electricity and Water Authority

DHA Dubai Health Authority

DHDA Dubai Human Development Award

DMC DUBAL Medical Centre

DQG Dubai Quality Group

DSCE Dubai Supreme Council of Energy

DUBAL Dubai Aluminium Company Limited

EEG Emirates Environment Group

EHS Environment, Health & Safety

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment

EMAL Emirates Aluminium Company Limited

EMS Environmental Management System

ERM Enterprise-wide Risk Management

ESS Employee Self Services

FIFR Fatal Injury Frequency Rate (per million man-hours)

FTP Fume Treatment Plant

GAC Guinea Alumina Corporation

GCC Gulf Co-operations Council

GHG Greenhouse Gas

GRI Global Reporting Initiative

GUI Graphic User Interface

HF Hydrogen fluoride

5251

For additional information, contact: Dubai Aluminium (“DUBAL”) P O Box 3627, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: + 971 4 884 6666 Fax: + 971 4 884 6919 www.dubal.ae