Listening to what people outside of Alcoa think about the company and its initiatives is a key aspect of sustainable development, and Alcoa's Warrick Operations in Indiana took two steps forward in addressing this goal in 2002.
For the past seven years, Warrick has invited environmentalists and community leaders into its plant for a review of the facility's environmental performance and future plans. In 2002, the format of this environmental forum changed to incorporate more interactions between plant personnel and external stakeholders.
At the forum, groups of stakeholders sat with a Warrick manager who served as the table's facilitator. After listening to a presentation on the plant's performance, challenges, and plans, the stakeholders at each table had 45 minutes to discuss their understanding of and reaction to the information presented. These views were then shared with the entire audience, resulting in clarification of misunderstandings that had arisen from the presentation and clear feedback on Warrick's current and future activities.
"I thought this format was very positive, creating a lot more interaction and feedback from participants than when someone is talking for the entire time," said Vaneta Becker, state representative for Indiana. "I also think it's very important for people to know they have an opportunity to express concerns they may have. When you achieve this ongoing rapport, it helps alleviate misunderstandings between the company and the community."
Adds David Scott Coker, environmental activist and member of Save Our Land and Environment, "Although Alcoa does provide many high-paying jobs to area residents, we are concerned about the health risks associated with air and water-born emissions, land-applied wastes, and hazardous waste streams. These environmental forums give us an opportunity to know various individuals within the company on a first-name basis. They also instill some confidence that Alcoa is truly making a concerted effort to reduce toxic emissions across the board."
Coker continues, "There are not many industrial facilities in southwestern Indiana that are willing to take people on personally guided tours of their enormous plant, much less admit to serious problems they have in various aspects of their operations. As I have stated before and will say again, I firmly believe that Alcoa's efforts should be seen as a model for other corporate entities throughout this region—indeed throughout the world—to emulate."
Warrick's dialogue with the community extended to the facility's 2002 community annual report. For the first time in the report's four-year history, the 2002 version included a forum section to allow members of the community to offer their feedback. Warrick distributed the report to 100,000 people in the surrounding community.
"I think it's important for a local community to know what a company is doing," said Lucy Himstedt, vice president and general manager of WFIE-TV and a contributor to the Warrick report's forum section. "You see smokestacks and make assumptions about what a facility is and does. By doing this report and including the outside perspective, Alcoa lets the rest of the community see what people like me have experienced firsthand."
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