Recycling 38 billion beverage cans avoids six million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and saves the energy equivalent of 19 million barrels of oil

ATLANTA, March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Novelis Inc. (NYSE: NVL - News; TSX: NVL - News), the world leader in aluminum rolling, recycled a record 38 billion used beverage cans in 2006, equal to more than 500,000 tonnes of aluminum.

By reducing the need for the mining and smelting of new metal, this recycling effort avoided the generation of about six million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and saved the energy equivalent of more than 19 million barrels of oil, enough fuel to run nearly two million automobiles for an average year.

"The aluminum beverage can is one of the most successful examples of sustainability in packaging," said Martha Brooks, Chief Operating Officer for Novelis. "Every time a consumer recycles a can, that's a little less primary aluminum that has to be produced. As a result, we achieve significant energy and environmental savings."

Aluminum produced from recycled metal uses only about five percent of the energy that is needed to produce primary aluminum, and avoids up to 95 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with primary production.

"For the consumer looking to help the environment, recycling your aluminum cans is one easy way to make an impact," said Brooks. "Not only does it save energy and reduce emissions, it also reduces the amount of material going into landfills. In addition, recycling delivers financial benefits to those that collect the cans, because of aluminum's high intrinsic value."

Novelis operates five can recycling facilities -- three in the United States, and one each in South America and Europe. Leading-edge technology makes the Novelis facilities highly efficient, contributing to enhanced productivity and environmental benefits. Cans recycled by Novelis are manufactured back into new can sheet in a "closed-loop" process that can be repeated infinitely, saving energy and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions each time.

"Recycled aluminum is an important source of raw material for Novelis," said Brooks. "Approximately 30 percent of our metal input comes from recycled material, supplementing our purchases of primary metal and giving us added sourcing flexibility."

Novelis is the global leader in aluminum rolled products and aluminum can recycling. The Company operates in 11 countries, has approximately 12,900 employees, and reported $9.8 billion in 2006 revenue. Novelis has the capability to provide its customers with a regional supply of technologically sophisticated rolled aluminum products throughout Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Through its advanced production capabilities, the Company supplies aluminum sheet and foil to the automotive and transportation, beverage and food packaging, construction and industrial, and printing markets. For more information, visit http://www.novelis.com.

Statements made in this news release which describe Novelis' intentions, expectations or predictions may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities laws. Examples of forward-looking statements in this news release include, among other things, Novelis' expectation to receive benefits from its aluminum recycling operations and procure similar amounts of used beverage cans in the future. Novelis cautions that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty. We do not intend, and we disclaim any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Important risk factors which could impact the success of Novelis' solution center are included under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, as filed with the SEC, and are specifically incorporated by reference into this news release.

Source: Novelis Inc.