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Message from the President
Alcoa in Québec has marked a number of major milestones in 2006 and 2007. Last year, we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the Bécancour aluminum smelter. This year, we celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the Deschambault smelter and Bécancour rod plant, as well as the fiftieth anniversary of the Baie-Comeau smelter. These are emotion-filled occasions for many people who are proud of the company's continuing presence in their communities, where we contribute significantly to the quality of life by our presence and our community involvement.
In 2006, Alcoa’s Week of Service became the Worldwide Month of Service—30 days of community involvement that took place in October. One far-reaching event—which gathered forces from all four Alcoa Canada Primary Metals plants and the Montreal head office—was a cleanup of the banks of the Saint Lawrence River, the majestic waterway along which our facilities are located.
Other community involvement included Alcoa Foundation donating more than US$840,000 (close to 1 million CA$*) to support numerous projects in Québec. Just over 300 employees volunteered a total of 1,292 hours of their time last year to community action group projects, while 316 more volunteered individually for a total of 37,462 hours. Last year was also notable for the signing of a three-year agreement with the Musée de la civilisation de Québec.
Major challenges await us down the road. Energy is an increasingly rare commodity, and we must use it wisely. We must assure continued access to sources of renewable energy and continuously develop technologies that are less energy-intensive. We believe we have made progress with our point of view on energy, and it will be possible to continue to develop the aluminum sector in Québec.
Our plants work well, and we are continuously making improvements. Our health and safety record is constantly getting better. The frequency of reportable incidents decreased by 47% last year, and Alcoa honored our Deschambault smelter for its health and safety performance. While continuing our efforts in this area, we also have to consider the overall health and well-being of our employees. We are involved in a Québec initiative to promote prevention in health called the Groupe de promotion pour la prévention en santé (GP2S), which aims to draw up standards of well-being. This will help us better define our vision of this concept and develop our own program.
Turning to the environment, we continue to draw closer to our goal of zero non-compliances. We're working relentlessly at the Bécancour rod plant to solve the water treatment problems experienced following the introduction of new requirements. Important progress was made in reducing emissions at the Baie-Comeau Söderberg plant after an increase in 2005. In 2006, the prebake plants at this smelter and at the Bécancour smelter also achieved their lowest levels of emissions since starting operations. These results led to our Bécancour facility garnering major recognition within Alcoa. Thus, we are well on the way to reaching the 2006-2007 target for greenhouse gas emissions agreed upon with the Québec government. Finally, with the Baie-Comeau plant now certified ICI ON RECYCLE!, all of our facilities hold this RECYC-QUÉBEC designation. Our entire team is working tirelessly to achieve our goal of reducing our landfill waste by 50%, but this challenge is especially ambitious for Baie-Comeau.
The creation of a Sustainability Advisory Committee in 2006 will help us better identify the concerns and expectations of Quebecers regarding sustainable development and, hopefully, allow us to respond even better.
Thank you to all the employees of Alcoa Canada Primary Metals for their work and commitment to our communities and for their contribution to our improved results.
Jean-Pierre Gilardeau
*(Conversion rate as at December 31 2006: US$1 = CA$1.1653)
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