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Sustainability has been embedded in
Alcan's Community Investment Program. One key outcome
of this is the creation, in January 2004, of the
Alcan Prize for Sustainability – an annual
$1 million award to recognize outstanding contributions
to the cause of global sustainability by not-for-profit,
non-governmental or civil society organizations. To ensure
impartiality, the application and selection process
is managed by the Prince of Wales International Business
Leaders Forum and adjudicated by a panel of internationally
distinguished sustainability experts.
In the first year of the award program, almost 500 submissions
were received from 79 countries. The first winner was
the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international
organization based in Bonn, Germany. The core mandate
of the FSC is to develop standards for responsible forest
management through an inclusive consultative process.
FSC standards are endorsed by a broad base of stakeholders
ranging from leading environmental organizations and
community groups to retailers and forestry product companies.
Alcan also awarded bursaries ($15,000 each) to a select
number of short-listed candidates as recommended
by the Adjudication Panel.
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In May 2004, also as part of its Community Investment Program,
Alcan launched the Alcan Builds on Recycling Program in Canada
in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. Alcan is a major
supporter of recycling initiatives in communities around the
globe and has also long been a supporter of Habitat for Humanity
International. Under the new program, two levels of initiatives
are available to Habitat for Humanity affiliates to recycle
used aluminum beverage cans (UBCs). The first level provides
dollar-for-dollar matching grants, to a maximum of CAN$2,500
a year to the affiliates who earn the highest cash value through
recycling UBCs. The second level awards a fully funded house
to the two most successful recyclers – one on the basis
of total cans collected, the other on the basis of total cans
collected per capita in the affiliate's region.
By recycling the largest number of UBCs, two affiliates (Sechelt,
B.C., and Toronto, Ontario) were each awarded CAN$60,000 by
Alcan to build a home.
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