Recycled Aluminium for MSMEs: How Secondary Metal Cuts Scope 3 Emissions

Published 2026-05-06.

Primary aluminium made with coal-based power, as in most Indian smelting, is among the most carbon-intensive common materials. Recycled aluminium needs only a small fraction of the energy, so its emissions are far lower. That reduction is available today, with no exotic technology.

Why this matters now

Driver	Why it tightens
CBAM (definitive period from 2026)	Aluminium is a CBAM good, so EU importers now pay for its embedded emissions
EU packaging recycling targets	Recycling-rate targets for aluminium packaging rise to 60% by 2030
Large OEM supplier rules	Rising recycled-content expectations

What MSMEs can do

Casting and extrusion units

Switch from primary ingot to secondary ingot from BIS-certified recyclers. Quality is suitable for many non-aerospace, non-pressurised applications; check the alloy specification. Compare the price against primary ingot.

Component fabrication

Specify "minimum 70% recycled content" in PO terms with traceability certificate. Ask recyclers for ISO 14021 recycled-content declarations.

Engineering MSMEs

Design for disassembly. Aluminium components that can be removed at end-of-life feed the recycle stream. Mark alloy on every part.

The Scope 3 maths

For example, suppose a pump manufacturer uses 200 tonnes/year of aluminium, with illustrative factors of 16 tCO2e/t for primary and 0.65 tCO2e/t for recycled metal:

100% primary: 200 × 16 = 3,200 tCO2e Scope 3 Cat 1
70% recycled mix: 200 × 5.26 = 1,051 tCO2e Scope 3 Cat 1
100% recycled: 200 × 0.65 = 130 tCO2e Scope 3 Cat 1

A Scope 3 cut this large from a single procurement decision is rare. Aluminium is the textbook example. Steel is similar: the scrap-EAF route is much lower-carbon than the blast furnace route.

How to verify supplier claim

Ask for:

Mass balance certificate per batch
Energy source declaration of recycler
Third-party (BIS or QCI) audit reference

Run scenarios in the Supplier Risk calculator.