| Short or long term |
Business groups
most affected |
Stakeholders
most affected/involved |
| Both |
Bauxite and Alumina,
Primary Metal, Packaging |
Communities, Government,
NGOs |
|
 |
|
The challenge for Alcan as a community
partner is to contribute to regional development
in the most effective manner based on vastly differing
community needs, while maintaining and enhancing
the Company's sustainable global competitiveness.
|
|
|
| Engage local stakeholders regardless of community
size or location. |
| Manage the rights to local resources in a responsible
manner. |
| Contribute to community sustainability through
special programs and active participation. |
|
As a company with large and diverse operations around the
globe, Alcan plays a role in the community that has many
dimensions and varies widely depending on the location. In
some cases, the Company has relatively small manufacturing
operations situated within urban industrial areas. In other,
more remote locations, it has a much larger presence, particularly
in bauxite mining, alumina refining and aluminum smelting
operations where Alcan is often the largest and most important
economic, environmental and social partner.
In some instances, such as at Kitimat in British Columbia,
Canada, Alcan's investment in this remote area in the
1950s spawned what has become a thriving community. With a
presence that includes extensive hydroelectric power facilities
and aluminum smelting operations, Alcan plays a significant
community development role in terms of employment, local skills
development, taxes and royalties paid, and the purchase of
local goods and services. The Company also contributes in
other ways such as local infrastructure development and maintenance
of ports, roads and medical facilities.
In many communities, Alcan's presence is a result of rights
to natural resources that have been secured over the years,
the most important ones being long-term water rights to produce
hydroelectric power and long-term land use rights to mine
bauxite. In some communities, we are a significant land owner
as well. Alcan supports this privileged presence with a strong
level of corporate social responsibility.
Community development is complex and challenging. It involves
more than investing dollars in a community. It requires working
with diverse stakeholders to identify community needs and
locate the intersection of Alcan's interests and those of
the community. When this is done, Alcan can effectively leverage
the full range of its resources, including its knowledge and
the skills and talents of its employees. Furthermore, needs
vary depending on location and the local situation. While
economic and employment issues may be the top priority in
one part of the world where we operate, other communities
may be struggling with basic issues such as access to housing,
education, and health care.
Regardless of where Alcan operates, the goal is to ensure
that it is a welcome community partner.
|
