Enhancing the sustainability of our production processes provides us with many opportunities to increase shareholder value.
For example:

  • We provide local employment and infrastructure development in generally remote locations and we rehabilitate exhausted mine sites;
  • Electricity is used in our aluminum production processes. This electricity is largely generated by hydroelectric sources. We continue our efforts to optimize our process efficiency;
  • We use water for cooling and cleaning in our smelting, fabricating and packaging facilities. Process improvements have led to reduced consumption, and in some cases made it possible to eliminate process water releases and to use rain-water in place of other water resources;
  • We produce solid and liquid wastes in our processing facilities. Innovative treatment processes continue to reduce environmental impacts and often result in reusable by-products;
  • Our operations produce greenhouse gases and we use toxic chemicals in some of our finishing operations. New processes have dramatically cut emissions and in some cases reduced or eliminated the use of a number of toxic chemicals.

Our challenge is to operate profitably, safely and in accord with the interests of the community and consistent with leading standards to meet the objectives set forth in our EH&S Policy. In the past, many process improvements have been driven through our environmental commitment. We must also continue to extend our consideration of issues and stakeholder concerns to better represent economic and social dimensions.





There are many examples throughout Alcan that illustrate our commitment to process improvements. For example:

  • The Value-Added Manufacturing System (VAMS) in our Rolled Products Europe Group has a strong focus on process improvements;
  • Safety management systems for operations involving mobile equipment, cranes and lifting devices are leading to safer workplaces;
  • Process changes and technology developments, such as the use of point breaker feeders and low-pitch tar, decrease the risk of occupational lung disease and bladder cancer in smelter operations;
  • Alcan research developed a phytotreatment program where aquatic plants are used to recover aluminum from smelter wastewater without harming the plant or the ecosystem;
  • New technology and process changes have allowed us to reduce Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions from solvents used in inks and lacquers at some of our packaging sites;
  • By changing filter media at our Terre Haute rolling facility, we reduced waste and improved operational efficiencies;
  • The start-up of Alma Works is another step in the Company's program to replace Söderberg technology smelters. These older technology smelters have a higher ratio of process emissions and are less efficient when compared with newer technology.