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TAKING ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
In the early 1990s, climate change
issues were growing in importance following the 1992
Rio Earth Summit. At this time, Alcan took a closer
look at how society's response could significantly impact
operations, the acceptability of aluminum products,
and the Company's competitiveness. Alcan became an industry
leader in identifying and quantifying the sources of
its emissions, researching ways to address CO2e emissions
(particularly those related to PFCs), and taking measures
to improve process and product efficiency. Consequently,
managing CO2e emissions quickly became a key component
of the Company's overall environmental commitment.
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| View of roof vent at Laterrière
Works, Quebec, Canada. |
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Alcan has assumed a prudent, pragmatic and voluntary approach
on the issue of addressing climate change, and believes that
actions taken need to involve truly global responses.
Internal Investments, Process
Controls, Innovations
CO2e emissions have long been a key
indicator used company-wide at Alcan. Business group and R&D
efforts have addressed sources such as electricity generation,
fossil fuel consumption, transportation and process-related
emissions. In fact, by 1999, Alcan had already reduced annual
emissions by about 12% in comparison with its performance
in 1990, measured on the basis of holdings in 1999.
This was achieved despite overall production increases of
primary metal of 4% by 1999 compared to 1990.
Today, greenhouse gas management is a fully integrated component
of Alcan's EHS FIRST and business management systems.
Using recognized methodologies, all sites are required to
produce an inventory of all emissions related to greenhouse
gases, including direct and indirect emissions from process
and energy consumption and the transport of the finished products.
This ensures a thorough understanding of the level of emissions
and their sources, and helps in developing appropriate management
strategies. The implementation of EHS FIRST has
helped to identify GHG reduction opportunities through process
improvements, energy efficiency, transportation, and energy
mix.
The principal vehicle for this effort is TARGET – Alcan's
greenhouse gas emissions reduction program, which was launched
in 2001. The program accommodates economic growth, embeds
an emissions reduction and energy efficiency philosophy throughout
the Company and optimizes long-term, cost-effective reductions
and the ongoing reporting of greenhouse gas emissions.
TARGET uses a moving baseline to allow for a comparison of
reductions to a reference year, and allows for accurate adjustments
to objectives to reflect changes in the corporate mix through
acquisitions, upgrades, shutdowns or divestments. Measurements
of reductions under TARGET, therefore, indicate real performance
improvement. On this basis, in the first four years of TARGET
(2001-2004), the cumulative GHG reduction objective was 575,000 tonnes
of CO2e. Alcan far surpassed this
objective with GHG reductions of 2.9 million tonnes of
CO2e during the first four years
of the program.
Key to this success are process-related improvements in addition
to the energy efficiency efforts and future focus on energy
management as discussed in the Energy
section of this report.
The most significant progress was in reducing "anode
effects" and the associated PFC emissions at the many
smelters operated by Alcan worldwide. Investment in equipment,
new IT software and hardware, the introduction of more efficient
working practices, and better monitoring of the pots have
all contributed to improved control of the smelting process.
Success is directly related to highly motivated cross-departmental
teams including operations, maintenance, engineering, and
environment personnel.
Alcan continues to research new innovations with the goal
to eventually eliminate PFCs from the electrolytic process
completely.
Technology changes and employee commitment at Alcan's Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne smelter in France resulted in a 55% reduction
in CF4 emissions in 2004 compared
to 2003, representing approximately 17,500 tonnes of
CO2e. With an investment of $4.46 million,
new systems were installed on all 180 pots in the plant, allowing
better control of the electrolytic process, thereby reducing
anode effects significantly.
At the Vlissingen smelter in the Netherlands, modernizations
over the past two years have resulted in an 80% reduction
of CO2e (including PFCs) per tonne
of aluminum produced. Total CO2e
emissions fell from 2.2 million tonnes in 2002 to
508,000 tonnes in 2004. This is a significant contribution
toward the overall commitment by the Netherlands to reduce
CO2e emissions by 25 million
tonnes by 2012. Vlissingen hopes to further reduce emissions
through improved energy consumption, which will be reflected
in associated GHG reductions by the power supplier.
PFC emissions
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| in tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tonne
of hot metal produced |
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| 2004 |
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1.8 |
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| 2003 |
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1.1 |
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| 2002 |
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1.1 |
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| 2001 |
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1.4 |
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| 2000 |
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2.1 |
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| 1999 |
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2.4 |
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| 1990 |
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5.1 |
| There are two reasons for the increase in PFC emissions
per tonne of hot metal produced compared to previous years, the most significant
of which is the change in technology mix due to the acquisition of Pechiney.
In addition, new up-to-date measurements were performed which showed that,
for some installations, emission factors for PFC had to be adjusted. |
Tonnes of CO2
equivalent
per thousand US$ sales |
Total sales
in millions of US$ |
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| 2004 |
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1.66 |
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24,885 |
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| 2003 |
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1.57 |
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13,850 |
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| 2002 |
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1.70 |
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12,483 |
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Direct & process |
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Indirect |
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Transportation |
| The increase in total emissions per $ sales in 2004
is due to the change in the energy mix for indirect sources of energy. Former
Pechiney sites use more carbon-based energy sources. |
| The decrease of direct emissions per $ sales is due
to Alcan's move toward more efficient processes. |
GHG emissions from aluminum production
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| in tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tonne
of hot metal produced |
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| 2004 |
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6.8 |
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| 2003 |
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4.6 |
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| 2002 |
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4.4 |
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Direct & process |
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Indirect |
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The increase in total GHG emissions per tonne of hot
metal produced is due to an increase in PFC emissions as explained in
chart notes here,
and an increase in indirect emissions coming from energy sources of the
acquired sites as explained in chart notes here.
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GHG emissions from alumina hydrate production
| The change in Bauxite and Alumina emission intensity
is due to the acquisition of Pechiney and to the related product-mix
change. |
Continuous improvement in the smelting process remains a
key component of Alcan's approach to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. In the meantime, Alcan is exploring other alternatives
by which it can offset greenhouse gas emissions by increasing
the uptake of CO2 by vegetation.
For example, a woodlands regeneration project on Alcan land
at Loch Leven in Scotland not only enhances the area's biodiversity
but also makes a significant contribution to the reduction
of CO2 levels – up to some 20,000 tonnes
annually which is equivalent to about 25% of GHG emissions
from the Lochaber smelter.
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