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July 24, 2008
The Alcoa Foundation Contributes to Urban Greening in Montréal!
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Montréal, July 24, 2008 – The Alcoa Foundation, in collaboration with Earth Day and the Darling Foundry, is proud to contribute to the greening of Montréal with the unveiling of the first permanent outdoor vegetation barrier. The construction of this barrier, located on Ottawa Street in the borough of Ville-Marie, was made possible thanks to an Alcoa Foundation grant awarded to Québec Earth Day.
Thus, Alcoa and Earth Day, which have been partners for 7 years, continue to perpetuate a common vision of urban greening. Alcoa already largely contributes to the greening of the planet with its 10 Million Trees program, implemented in 2001. To date, some 39,778 tree shoots have been distributed in Québec.
Given that the infrastructures in Montréal often leave little space for planting trees, we must turn to vertical greening such as vegetation barriers, for example. This innovative solution is important for the community since it furthers the enhancement of the residents’ quality of life while fighting urban heat and pollution. This is one of the reasons why the Alcoa Foundation was immediately inspired to support the project.
“We very much liked the idea of offering an attractive space that could become a refuge on very hot days. Also, the innovative quality of the project appealed to us, since it is important to encourage the development of new ways of doing things, particularly in the area of sustainable development, so that we may collectively make progress. Lastly, this space is living organic art, an improvement of the urban environment, and an opportunity to share and exchange, notably thanks to activities held during the summer,†stated Pierre Després, Vice President, Public and Government Affairs, at Alcoa Canada. “The Espace Fraîcheur project is the crossroads of so many elements important to Alcoa and its foundation that we simply couldn’t resist!â€
About the Alcoa Foundation
Alcoa Foundation is a separately constituted nonprofit U.S. corporate foundation with assets of approximately US$504 million. Its mission is to actively invest in the quality of life in Alcoa communities worldwide. Throughout its history, the Alcoa Foundation has been a source of positive community change and enhancement, with over US$465 million invested since 1952. To learn more about Alcoa Foundation, visit www.alcoa.com under Community.
About Alcoa Canada Primary Metals
In Québec, Alcoa Canada Primary Metals (ACPM) is comprised of the Baie-Comeau, Bécancour and Deschambault smelters, as well as the Bécancour Rod Plant. These four plants have an annual production capacity of over one million metric tons of ingots, castings, billets and aluminum rods. ACPM employs close to 3,300 people and its activities generate over $1.5 billion in economic spin-offs annually in the province.
About Québec Earth Day
The mission of Earth Day is to stimulate and value positive environmental action among individuals, organizations and businesses–a true celebration through action, on April 22 and every other day! Year after year, Earth Day marks the birth, in 1970, of the environmental movement as we know it today. In Québec, Earth Day has been celebrated since 1995 with the organization of all types of activities designed to raise awareness of environmental issues. Earth Day spreads the message loud and clear that citizens throughout the planet want speedy and decisive action in favor of the environment. Today, over one billion people in 184 countries are taking action. Over the years, Eath Day has become the most important participative environmental event on the planet.
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