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Climate Change
At Alcoa corporate social responsibility is ingrained in our business, its part of our DNA. Our sustainability embraces both our own operations and also the communities in which we operate. A good example is how we—a major energy and water user—are addressing the challenge of climate change both within and without our operations.
Our greenhouse gas reduction efforts focus on projects, technology and programs that make significant efficiency gains and reduce both our direct and total greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity per tonne of alumina and aluminium produced.
Direct greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are those released directly, while indirect emissions are those that result from power stations that supply energy to be used in production or manufacturing, such as a smelter or refinery. Both direct and indirect emissions are added to calculate total greenhouse gas emissions. Alcoa has been able to make significant efficiency gains in both direct and total emissions per tonne of product (GHG intensity).
Since 1990 our Victorian smelters have achieved a direct emissions reduction of more than 60 per cent per tonne of aluminium produced, while our alumina refineries in Western Australia have reduced their direct GHG intensity by over 11 per cent. Our rolled products plants have reduced direct GHG intensity by 16 per cent.
We have also reduced our total GHG intensity since 1990. Our Victorian smelters achieved more than a 16 per cent reduction per tonne of aluminium produced, while our alumina refineries in Western Australia have reduced their total GHG intensity by more than 12 per cent. Our rolled products plants have reduced total GHG intensity by about 21per cent on 1990 levels.
In 2008 we reduced our greenhouse intensity per unit of production across our entire business, while achieving record production levels for our refinery group in Western Australia and an increase in aluminium production from our smelters.
For a full report on our 2008 greenhouse performance, Environmental Section please see the Environmental Section of our sustainability reporting.
Alcoa will continue to play a leadership role, globally and in Australia, to develop new efficiencies for reduced emissions. For more detail on what Alcoa is doing visit Climate Change: Part of the Solution.
Making an impact
It isn’t just what Alcoa is doing as a company that is making a difference either. Our employees are passionately engaged in volunteering their time and effort to reducing greenhouse gas.
In 2008 the focus for Alcoa’s Global Month of Service activities was ‘Carbon Crunch’.
During a packed event schedule throughout October, the effort of Alcoa employees was even bigger and better than years before with 2245 Alcoa employees volunteering in various community activities – up six per cent from last year – representing 36 per cent of our workforce.
There were 73 separate Month of Service activities, again an increase up from 49 events in 2007, which in real terms, meant almost 70 community organisations positively benefitting from Alcoa employees’ volunteering efforts.
Month of Service 2008 facts and figures:
- 14 Carbon Crunch workshops were held with over 540 employees learning how to reduce their personal and family’s greenhouse footprint.
- 17 ACTION events were held across Australia in addition to many other employee volunteer activities – these are group based volunteering projects driven by employees in the community.
- Five employee recognition events were organised to celebrate our employees who volunteer in the community.
- A range of environmental activities were held with over 7655 trees planted by employees and community members. Each of these trees has the potential to save half a tonne of greenhouse gas over its lifetime which means our employees could have saved a whopping 3827.5 tonnes!
Alcoa’s Global Month of Service is an Alcoa Foundation initiative, to support and encourage volunteering in communities where Alcoa operates. To find out more about our employees volunteering efforts in Australia visit Our People section.
| Greenhouse Intensity - Internal Tonnes of Greenhouse Gas Per Unit of Production (tonnes) |
| Year |
1990 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
| Alumina refining |
0.63 |
0.591 |
0.588 |
0.594 |
0.582 |
0.57 |
0.56 |
0.54 |
| Aluminium smelting |
5.21 |
2.04 |
1.97 |
2.08 |
2.14 |
2.07 |
2.01 |
1.94 |
| Anglesea power |
1.34 |
1.21 |
1.21 |
1.2 |
1.21 |
1.2 |
1.18 |
1.20 |
| Alcoa ARP (Point Henry and Yennora) |
0.878 |
0.689 |
0.671 |
0.727 |
0.725 |
0.83 |
0.74 |
0.73 |
| Total greenhouse gas emissions (kt CO2e) |
| Year |
Direct |
Indirect |
| 1990 |
6,185 |
10,487 |
| 2002 |
5,861 |
10,725 |
| 2003 |
5,889 |
10,832 |
| 2004 |
5,954 |
10,813 |
| 2005 |
6,042 |
10,553 |
| 2006 |
6,101 |
10,409 |
| 2007 |
5,668 |
11,110 |
| 2008 |
5.276 |
10,927 |
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Case study:
Carbon capture the clever way to cut CO2
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