Key sustainability-focused business initiatives
Management of investment, growth and eventual closure of mining/refining operations, often in remote locations of the world, is a key challenge for B&A and its host communities. The group’s vision for sustainability embraces this challenge; consequently, the group is determined to:
Leverage its capacity for innovation and become the supplier and project developer of choice by decreasing its footprint on the planet and leaving environmental and social conditions that will create value for our stakeholders.
Ramping-up progressively through the first quarter of 2008, the US$ 2.3 billion expansion of Gove’s alumina refinery in Australia’s Northern Territory will increase the refinery’s production capacity from 1.8 million tonnes per year by 2007 and will significantly improve Alcan’s overall cost position and capacity in alumina. Early in the project, having anticipated tight market conditions and to overcome issues related to the remote location, Alcan implemented an innovative Pre-Assembled Module (PAM) strategy, which entailed a substantial portion of plant components being fabricated in PAM yards off-site and shipped to Gove ready for installation – a strategy that not only mitigated the tight Australian market conditions but also minimized the environmental footprint at Gove and reduced safety risks. See Pre-assembled Modules (PAMs) – An Innovative Solution for further information. - Manage bauxite mining, alumina processing, bauxite residue storage and site rehabilitation in such a way that it reduces the impact of its operations on the environment and seeks to be restorative.
With bauxite residue storage near capacity in some of its sites, B&A is building on efforts to improve disposal technologies and identify alternative solutions that could both put the residue to viable commercial use and also tackle its main environmental challenge.
Gardanne’s innovation of Bauxaline® is a welcome development. A by-product developed from residue left over from the Bayer process, Bauxaline has numerous commercial applications, including road construction, landfill, site revegetation and cement production. Advances made during 2006 led to the company investing 5 million Euros in an innovative filter press that more effectively transforms residue into Bauxaline. See Maximizing Value with Bauxaline® for further information.
- Engage with its stakeholders in such a way that it creates and supports social and economic conditions that enhance people’s fundamental needs.
In June 2006, Alcan announced that it would support the Government of Ghana’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through a three-year collaboration, which is aligned with the Company’s commitment to the United Nations Global Compact. The collaboration is designed to support the development plans of the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai District, where Alcan’s 80 percent-held joint-venture, Ghana Bauxite Company Ltd. (GBC), operates a bauxite mine.
| Recognizing the strategic importance of the environment (particularly water), health and education, to both Alcan and its communities, Alcan will support Government ministries, in collaboration with development organizations, to: |
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identify actions to support the Government in addressing universal primary education (MDG #2); |
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reduce child mortality (MDG #4); |
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improve maternal health (MDG #5); |
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combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (MDG #6); |
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provide sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation (MDG #7) |
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Through our investment, growth and eventual closure, we seek to leave host communities better than when we arrived. It is this positive economic, environmental and social legacy that we create that will be the source of our ongoing license to operate and grow.
For a detailed overview of the group’s geographic and market presence, please refer to Alcan Facts 2006 available online or in publication. |
