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Sustainability in Primary Metal
First and foremost, aluminum smelting
is an energy intensive process requiring large amounts
of electricity. Hydropower is Alcan's preferred source
of energy since it is renewable, non-polluting and cost
effective in regions like Canada where the Company has
approximately 44% of its smelting capacity and an extensive
owned hydroelectric power network. Operating hydropower
facilities, however, does have related environmental
and social issues, including water rights, reservoir
levels, community impacts, shoreline erosion, changing
stream flow rates and temperatures, and impacts on downstream
habitats.
For example, the Nechako
watershed in British Columbia is the area impacted
by the Nechako Reservoir, created in the 1950s to supply
water for the Kemano power station. Kemano, in turn,
feeds the Kitimat smelter. Alcan and 23 other stakeholders
formed the Nechako Watershed Council to identify, analyze
and address issues relating to the watershed.
Alcan is also a member of the Canadian
Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR), a national
organization based in British Columbia. Our involvement
with this group, which started in early 2003, has furthered
our understanding of the value of social responsibility
and how we might best apply these concepts in our operations
around the globe. For example, in cooperation with CBSR,
Alcan took the lead in organizing and hosting the first-ever
corporate conference on the business case for sustainability.
Whether it's working with school children in Brazil,
managing watersheds in Canada, or developing smelting
operations in China, the Primary Metal group continues
its long tradition of working with stakeholders such
as employee groups, communities, government agencies
and non-governmental organizations to achieve common
goals. Community and societal concerns are high on the
agenda as evidenced in Quebec by a partnership agreement
that was signed with the Regional Council for the Environment
and Sustainable Development in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
region (CREDD) specifically for the protection of designated
species.
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