Novelis, a leader in aluminum rolled products and beverage can recycling, was honoured with a 'Silver Gaia Award' at the Big 5 international building and construction exhibition held recently in Dubai.

Novelis, a subsidiary of the India-based Hindalco Industries Limited, said the award recognizes the environmental benefits of the company's pre-painted cladding sheet ff2ECOplus, which was developed to meet the low-carbon requirements of the Masdar City project in Abu Dhabi.

Hindalco is one of Asia's largest integrated producers of aluminum and a leading copper producer and a flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai.

'Novelis is committed to delivering sustainable solutions in its products and processes,' said John Gardner, newly-appointed vice president and chief sustainability officer for Novelis.

'It is gratifying to have this excellent example of our product stewardship recognized at the Big 5 exhibition, especially in Dubai which is renowned for its innovative construction projects,' Gardner explained.

'The Big 5 is the largest building and construction trade show in the Middle East.  The aim of the Gaia Awards, now in its third year, is to raise the profile of environmentally responsible building products and services in the Arabian Gulf region that reflect the growing desire to 'build green.'

Novelis' ff2ECOplus is a high performance, pre-painted aluminum facade product that meets the Masdar City requirements for building materials with the lowest possible carbon footprint, taking into account production and end-of-life recyclability.

Recycling saves 95 per cent of the energy and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of primary aluminum. Furthermore, ff2ECOplus, with its high strength and excellent formability, is extremely durable with low life-cycle maintenance requirements.

The Masdar City project in Abu Dhabi aims to be one of the world's most sustainable urban developments, which will also be entirely powered by renewable energy, he added.-TradeArabia News Service