Report Examines Sustainability of Products, Operations and Resources
NEW YORK–Alcoa (NYSE:AA) today published its 2009 Sustainability Report, the 8th
consecutive year the company has reported its financial, environmental
and social impact results. The 2009 report outlines the Company’s
progress on the sustainability of its products, resources and operations.
“We have long valued transparency in our company,” said William J.
O’Rourke, Alcoa vice president for sustainability & environment, health
& safety. “Since 1993 we have set goals and publicly reported on our
progress, and in 2003 we published our first sustainability report. For
our 2009 report, we organized around a cradle-to-cradle theme, looking
at our Company from the resources we use, to production, use and reuse
of our products.”
The 2009 report examines the sustainability of Alcoa’s products,
including product
design, life
cycle awareness and economic
value. In addition, the report reviews sustainability of operations
– a look at health
and safety,
climate
change and financial
performance — and sustainability of resources,
which includes, among other things, land
management, biodiversity
and purchasing
standards.
“This new report reflects our efforts in 2009 to further integrate
sustainability into our core business strategies during a challenging
business environment,” said O’Rourke.
The report includes a new set of strategic
performance goals, indexed to production to give a better picture of
progress over time, unaffected by variations due to either growth or
curtailment.
The new
goals, from a 2005 baseline, include:
-
Reducing total carbon
dioxide equivalent (CO2e) intensity by 20 percent by 2020 and 30
percent by 2030. -
A 10 percent reduction in the energy
intensity of primary operations by 2020; 15 percent by 2030. -
A 20 percent reduction in the energy intensity of all other businesses
by 2020; 30 percent by 2030. -
A 10 percent reduction in average fresh water-use
intensity by 2020; 25 percent by 2030.
Significant achievements in the report include:
-
74 percent of Alcoa locations worldwide reported zero
lost work day incidents and 41 percent reported zero recordable
injuries. -
Continued reductions in absolute greenhouse gas emissions in 2009,
achieving a 44% reduction from 1990 levels. This compares to a
reduction of 36% through the end of 2008, although a considerable
portion of the 2009 improvement was due to production curtailments.
Process improvements in the Global Primary Products group reduced
direct GHG emissions by more than 1 million tons over 2008. -
Performed life
cycle assessments of aluminum-containing products, including
computer laptops, automotive space frames, truck/trailers, city buses,
and aluminum bottles and conducted third-party, peer-reviewed life
cycle assessments of aluminum beverage containers and automotive parts
in association with the European Aluminium Association, U.S. Aluminum
Association, and International Aluminium Institute. -
About 90 percent of our worldwide operating locations now have community
programs, and Alcoa and Alcoa
Foundation invested more than $34 million in the communities in
which we operate worldwide;
The full report is available online at www.alcoa.com/sustainability.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated
aluminum and alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum
industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the
aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial
transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the
past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled
products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels,
fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building
systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as
titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral
part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and
engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow
Jones Sustainability Index for eight consecutive years and approximately
75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in
active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 59,000 people in 31
countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.