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Climate Change—Programs & Actions
Policy Engagement
We are actively involved in climate legislation within each of our operating regions to ensure that our early action is acknowledged and our concerns are understood.
Specifically, we have made regional governments aware of the impacts that legislation could have on trade-exposed, energy-intensive industries like ours, and we have suggested measures that can protect the environment from carbon leakage and Alcoa from significant competitiveness issues. We also participated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 14th Conference of Parties in Poznan, Poland, where we continued to take part in discussions on the role that sectoral agreements could play in a global climate agreement.
In the United States, we maintained our leadership position on federal climate policy through our involvement in the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP). In early 2009, USCAP issued its Blueprint for Legislative Action, offering detailed recommendations on policy language aimed at achieving the goal to slow, stop, and reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions within a reasonable time period.
In 2008, we also developed a quantitative model that will allow us to forecast the impact of emerging legislative programs in terms of compliance requirements and the cost of energy. This model will be updated as timing and policy content evolves, and the output will be used to guide our strategic decisions on growth and deployment of capital.
Emissions Reduction
We continued to reduce our absolute greenhouse gas emissions in 2008, achieving a 36% reduction from 1990 levels. A key achievement was our global network of aluminum smelters reducing perfluorocarbons (PFCs)—a greenhouse gas—by an additional 1.1 million tons (see case study) as part of our One Million Ton Challenge.
Three Alcoa smelters located in the northwest of Spain—Avilés, La Coruña, and San Ciprián—were the first industrial sites to sign a voluntary agreement with the Spanish government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Under the agreement, the smelters have committed to reduce a total of 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2,e) from 2008 to 2012 by decreasing their PFC emissions. Since 1995, these three smelters achieved a reduction of more than 650,000 tons of CO2,e by investing in technology and improving operating practices.
We continue to aggressively explore opportunities to reduce energy intensity in each of our processes and the resulting indirect carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. We also continue to research transformational production technology that will reduce direct emissions, improve energy efficiency, or both. These technologies could have broad implications for the entire industry.
Because commercial application of these technologies will take some time, we have also established a carbon-offset program in each region to help us meet eventual compliance requirements in the short term. Actions will involve self-managed projects, as well as partnership arrangements with credible organizations engaged in carbon offsets in strategic regions.
Performance data
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Strategic Energy Decisions
Alcoa supports the use of renewable energy, and we are engaged in the installation of solar and wind generation projects at several of our smaller plants. For our primary metals operations, we incorporate a preference for no to low carbon sources to power our smelters.
Today, our company’s hydroelectric facilities generate billions of kilowatt hours for Alcoa operations worldwide, with about 60% of our smelter output powered by hydroelectricity. We are committed to decreasing our reliance on fossil fuels by increasing the use of natural, renewable energy sources that help lower CO2 emissions. In 2008, we executed two new, long-term power agreements for smelters in North America. Both are for hydroelectric-based sources of electricity.
Unfortunately, some regions where we operate do not have many choices in terms of energy sources. In these cases, we will continue to explore opportunities to quickly but affordably deliver carbon capture and sequestration technology.
Product and Market Evolution
In 2008, we increased our focus on helping key customers understand both the role that aluminum can play in the mitigation of global warming and the benefits of our products through product-specific life-cycle analyses. These analyses show that the light weight, strength, and recyclability characteristics of aluminum-based products create a clear advantage relative to other materials in terms of reducing or avoiding GHG emissions.
With respect to recycling, we have been actively promoting end-user recycling, working with local communities and governments to facilitate improvement in recycling rates. In 2008, we announced a goal to help drive the recycling rate of used beverage containers (UBCs) from the 2007 U.S. recycling rate of around 54% to 75% by 2015. The reaction to this initiative from communities, customers, and employees has been remarkable.
Stakeholder Engagement
We continue to seek out active discussion with global and regional stakeholders to ensure that we stay informed on specific concerns and advancements regarding critical policy or technical solutions.
These include partnerships like the business leadership team for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, the World Resources Institute (WRI), Conservation International, the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development, the Business Roundtable, and the World Economic Forum Global GHG Registry.
We also participate in many external surveys of corporations and their efforts to address climate change and their carbon footprint. For example, we have participated in all six surveys performed by the Carbon Disclosure Project—a not-for-profit organization supporting institutional investors who seek to better understand climate-related risks and opportunities from the world’s largest companies. We have routinely ranked among the highest ratings within the metals and mining industry in this survey. (View Alcoa's survey responses.)
In late 2007, we became a founding reporter of the Climate Registry, agreeing to report GHG emissions individually from all of our large facilities in the United States by the year 2010.
In 2008, Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation also launched the Make an Impact program in the United States. This program seeks to raise awareness of climate change within our workforce and give individuals guidance on what they can do to reduce their CO2 footprint at work and at home. The U.S. initiative is based on the Make an Impact program developed for our Australian employees in 2006.
Case Studies
Alcoa Smelters Meet Challenge to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by One Million Tons Annually
Switch to Bio-based Lubricants Reduces Emissions, Costs
Fighting Climate Change on the Home Front
Residue Carbon Capture Delivers Double Environmental Benefit
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