We also commissioned a Global Sustainability Committee during 2009 consisting
of key sustainability-focused Alcoa resources from various regions of the world.
We tasked that committee to undertake a gap analysis regarding our current
sustainability initiatives and priorities and develop an action plan for 2010
and beyond.
Finally, our CEO commissioned an executive-level Global Sustainability
Steering Team to drive accountability for integration of sustainability into our
business strategies. This team consists of key executives who now have
accountability for Alcoa's strategic sustainability initiatives, and they report
on progress against our strategic sustainability priorities at every quarterly
business review.
As their first order of business, team members reviewed the goals and
objectives in our existing 2020 Strategic Framework for Sustainability and
developed a new set of targets to drive progress in our businesses to 2020 and,
for some areas, to 2030. In conjunction with the new sustainability approach,
the new strategic
sustainability targets will continue to drive us toward measurable
results against our key sustainability
challenges, such as climate change.
As a result of these actions, our longstanding commitment to sustainability
became even stronger during 2009. We believe that linking sustainability to our
core business strategies makes us a better company, and a better company becomes
a company of choice for governments and communities. This designation leads to
better access to land, markets, capital, resources, and people.
We are fully committed to maintaining our sustainability focus and direction,
even during very difficult times. Having done so, we are emerging from this
global economic crisis even stronger.
Our goal for 2010 and beyond is to seamlessly integrate sustainability
concepts into all of our business processes so they become part of how we do
business. Key components to achieving this goal are understanding the expectations
of our stakeholders and remaining transparent in reporting our
progress, as well as our setbacks.
We also consider each employee a sustainability champion. Supporting them are
internal experts in various aspects of sustainability, such as environment and
community relations.
Many of our business units and regions are employing complementary
sustainability indicators around their sustainability challenges. They are also
using workshops and other methods to engage customers, management, employees,
communities, and other stakeholders in sustainability initiatives, leading to
strategies and action plans.
For example, the objectives of the Brazilian Sustainability Steering
Committee are to:
- Improve sustainability governance with the involvement and visibility of
top management;
- Increase accountability of business units and locations;
- Create opportunities for leaders to share best practices while
increasing their knowledge on sustainability; and
- Accelerate the process of integrating sustainability into the
organization.
Several members of this Brazilian team also sit on the Global Sustainability
Committee. They contribute to the broader corporate agenda for sustainability
while ensuring that our global sustainability approach fits the needs of their
region.
In Europe, a sustainability director works with all our business units and
internal country representatives to more fully integrate sustainability into
their day-to-day activities. The director also co-leads the Global
Sustainability Committee.
Additional information on how we are implementing sustainability at the local
level can be found on the following country and region pages: Australia, Brazil,
Canada, China, Europe,
Guinea, Iceland, Jamaica, and Suriname.
We were recognized for our sustainability efforts in 2009 through inclusion
in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the eighth consecutive time and being
named one of the most sustainable companies in the world at the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland, for the fifth (2009) year. (See other awards.)
