Reporting Structure & Assurance

 

 

Reporting Structure

Alcoa has a long history of reporting on its economic, environmental, and social performance. This website, designed to give stakeholders access to detailed and current information on our sustainability performance, continues that tradition. It is designed to demonstrate accountability and transparency, while also showing how sustainability is being integrated into all aspects of our business. In addition, it serves as a research and teaching tool for our internal and external stakeholders and drives best practices throughout our company.

 

Many of Alcoa’s top leaders and employees in the various regions are involved in our sustainability reporting, from writing individual sections to providing input and feedback.

 

We offer online reporting supplemented by a year-end summary available as a downloadable PDF. We also provide a Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) index for a quick comparison of our information with the GRI guidelines, the GRI Mining and Metals sector supplement, and the 10 International Council on Mining and Metals' sustainable development principles.

 

The information contained in our sustainability reporting is supplemented by other Alcoa reports and documents. These include the annual report; regional sustainability reports; Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including the annual Form 10-K; and the extensive alcoa.com website. One report cannot tell the whole Alcoa story, which is why we encourage readers to review all of our information resources. See the sustainability reporting sitemap for more detailed links.

 

Assurance

We continue to take substantive steps to obtain data assurance for some of the more critical data elements contained in our reporting.

 

During 2009, we engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) to review our global data collection and reporting processes under the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) consulting standards and provide us with observations and recommendations for improvement.

 

We continued to work with PwC during 2010 to obtain limited assurance on our 2010 consolidated greenhouse gas emissions data under the AICPA attestation standards. (View PwC’s limited assurance report.) Our goal is to expand the concept of third-party assurance to other significant areas of sustainability data collection and reporting in 2011.

 

The 2010 report fulfills the requirements of GRI’s application level A+ as confirmed by the GRI statement on its independent application level check and PWC’s limited assurance report.

 

While we work toward full data assurance for all significant sustainability data reported, we will continue to rely on other existing means of assurance already in place.

 

 

Internal & External Processes

In addition to our comprehensive internal metrics systems, we employ a variety of processes to bring assurance that our operations are transparent and the information we report is accurate and truly reflective of our actual results. Examples include the following:

• Internal Audit: We have a rigorous internal audit process that evaluates our locations on five areas: environmental; health & safety; operational excellence; financial & business processes; and information technology. Additional information can be found on the Internal Audit web page.

• U.S. Security Exchange Commission (SEC) Filings: We file or furnish significant information, including our annual, quarterly, and current reports, proxy statement, and sustainability highlights reports, with the U.S. SEC, and we are subject to its rules and regulations.
• Community Advisory Panels: Under the Alcoa Community Framework, each of our locations is encouraged to convene a community advisory panel to provide a forum for ongoing interaction between the plants and area residents. We provide extensive information regarding the issues raised by these community advisory panels, as well as the actions we have taken to address them, in the Community & Stakeholder Engagement section.
• Annual Employee Survey: This survey, translated into multiple languages, helps us identify best practices for increasing employee engagement.
• Health and Safety Committees: Each location has various task, department, ad hoc, and other committees to develop and implement health and safety programs based on the location’s strategic health and safety plan. These leadership groups include a cross-section of personnel from the facility.
• Business Conduct and Conflict of Interest Survey: Each year, we send a business conduct survey to more than 10,000 employees asking them to certify their compliance with Alcoa’s business conduct, anti-corruption, and insider trading policies.
• Ethics & Compliance Line: Our Ethics & Compliance Line allows employees across the globe to confidentially report any concerns they may have regarding potential violations of Alcoa’s policies and practices, including those affecting data.
• Environmental Improvement Plans: Many of Alcoa’s Australian operations work with the local communities to develop environmental improvement plans for each location.
• Environmental and Social Impact Assessments: Prior to constructing new facilities or expanding existing ones, we conduct an environmental and social impact assessment to determine what effects the project would have on the community.
• External Partnerships: We partner with many external organizations on a project or ongoing basis to address operational and community issues. Examples can be found in the Community & Stakeholder Engagement section.

 

 

External Recognition

Alcoa has earned numerous awards for its work around the world. Many of these are bestowed after quite rigorous research and benchmarking processes by independent reviewers.

 

One example is the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, which provide asset managers with reliable and objective benchmarks to manage sustainability portfolios. In 2010, Alcoa was included in the North American Index for the ninth consecutive year and again named to the World Index.

 

A partial list of other recognitions in recent years can be found in the Awards section.

 

 

External Standards

Laws, rules, and mandated standards are essential components of civilized society. We must have reference points to help guide direction and define right from wrong. Yet, in isolation, they cannot guarantee sustainability. Practically no rule book can be capable of describing appropriate responses to every possible combination of circumstances. That is why we rely primarily on our values supported by internal policies and standards to guide our behavior.

 

It is not the role for companies to sign on to international laws and conventions, such as the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labor Organization conventions. That is the responsibility of governments. However, we are fully aligned with these international conventions, and we use them to guide our internal policies and standards.

 

Where any international convention is required by the government of a country in which an Alcoa facility is located, our facility will abide by that convention since our locations must follow the laws of the country in which they are located. When our internal requirements exceed those of the government, which is often the case, our location must abide by the more stringent standard. 

 

A key challenge in our growth strategy is to understand and accommodate the different customs and values that we encounter during our work in various countries. In these situations, we understand that we must engage with these stakeholders to resolve any discrepancies without compromising our own values. We don’t have a perfect answer, but we believe that, as a first and continuing step forward, dialogue will help parties understand one another’s viewpoints.

 

As an industry leader, we do feel it is important to help develop guidelines and standards that will move the industry closer to sustainability. We continue to actively participate in the development and achievement of the International Aluminium Institute’s “Aluminium for Future Generations Sustainable Development Programme.” This program comprises 13 voluntary objectives and 22 performance indicators that are designed to encourage continual improvement in the industry’s sustainability performance.

 

In 2009, we became a participant in the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate responsibility initiative. As a participant, we pledge to advance several goals related to the environment, human rights, labor standards, and anti-corruption, as well as report on our progress. View our most current report.

 

Starting in 2011, we also will provide a summary of our actions and activities throughout the world that have directly supported the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.

 

 

External Principles and Initiatives
We subscribe to or endorse the following externally developed principles or initiatives:

• United Nations Global Compact;
• The Business Roundtable Principles of Corporate Governance; and
• International Aluminium Institute Sustainability Principles.

 

 

Certifications

Our locations continue to maintain ISO 14001 certification where the certification provides business value.

 

All Alcoa locations and business units can seek ISO certification under the global certificate, reducing the overall cost of ISO certification. Locations that select other registrars can continue their location-specific registration if they choose. Where synergies and business value exist, business unit and location environmental management systems are to be certified through the Alcoa global certificate.

 

We have established a target to have all location environment, health, and safety (EHS) management systems consistent and linked with the corporate EHS management system.

 

At the end of 2010, 51 of our locations throughout the world were certified to ISO 14001. This number declined from 2009 due to the closure of some locations and the business decision not to maintain certification for other selected locations because of cost and declining business value. We also had 10 locations certified to the Occupational Health and Safety Management System specification (OHSAS 18001) and 4 locations that were SA8000 (social accountability) certified.