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Corporate Social Responsibility
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3.28.2007 - 02:00pm ET
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Alcoa Embraces Decision on Vatnajokull National Park
(CSRwire) REYDARFJORDUR, ICELAND & NEW YORK, NY - Alcoa Inc., today announced it
embraces the decision of Althing (Parliament of Iceland) to establish
Europe's biggest natural reserve. The Vatnajökull National Park will
cover a total of 15,000 square kilometres (just under 6,000 square miles).
Europe's biggest glacier, Vatnajökull, is fully incorporated in the
national park.
Alcoa has for several years supported the creation of and has monitored
the preparations for the establishment of the Vatnajökull National
Park and its underlying ambitious ideology. "We salute Althing for taking
this important step to support the establishment of this unique wilderness
national park," said Tomas Sigurðsson, Managing Director of Alcoa
Fjardaal in Iceland. "We have long supported protecting this natural
reserve as it is part of our sustainability philosophy."
Preparations for the Vatnajökull National Park began as early as in
1999 when Althing passed a parliamentary resolution to establish the park.
A bill of law on the national park was passed recently by a large majority
of parliamentarians.
Alcoa is the world's leading producer and manager of primary aluminum,
fabricated aluminum and alumina facilities, and is active in all major
aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive,
packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and
industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other
capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers. In addition to aluminum
products and components, Alcoa also markets consumer brands including
Reynolds Wrap® foils and plastic wraps, Alcoa® wheels, and
Baco® household wraps. Among its other businesses are closures,
fastening systems, precision castings, and electrical distribution systems
for cars and trucks. The company has 123,000 employees in 44 countries and
has been named one of the top most sustainable corporations in the world
at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. More information can be
found at www.alcoa.com
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Icelander
2007-03-28 19:06:51
THIS IS REALLY GOING TOO FAR IN PR OF A COMPANY!!!
This is exactly what us Icelanders have been afraid of. Alcoa put a little sum of money into this project and now they are taking credit for our national park! What is wrong with those people? This is the top nodge of hippocracy of this corporate world. They support reserving our wilderness... yes, but they also supported that the government de-preserved some land that was very precious and built a huge dam to provide energy for their smelter. And they also support mining bauxit in Jamaica, the precious country of Jamaica has now been destroyed (25% of the island) and some animal species endangered. Is that also sustainability in their eyes? Alcoa is a hypocrit and nothing else.
For the world to be more sustainable we need less aluminum produced. It is really destroying the worlds most precious areas for mining and energy producing as it is the least sustainable industry of all and demands a lot of energy. It is also highly polluting and the waste is enourmous. Last decade (1990-2000) in USA alone they wasted aluminum cans of 7,1 million tons which is enough to produce 316.000 Boeing 737 airplanes. That is the entire world fleet of airplanes 25 times! (www.container-recycling.org)
We do not want Aluminum companies coming to our country and destroying it and then putting out public PR stunt news of them supporting our wilderness. This has gone too far. Stop Alcoa and start recycling!
Arnar Steinn
2007-03-29 07:55:49
This national Park is, I´m sorry to say, a bad coverup for the environmental disaster currently taking place in Iceland.
Recently (in 2004) the reserve north of this national park was "un-reserved" so that the power companies could dig up and destroy the rivers and geothermal areas in the north part of Iceland for creating electricity for aluminum smelters.
Allready one of Icelands biggest glacial rivers has been dammed only to provide electricity for one Alcoa smelter. Flooding one of two most vegetated areas in the Icelandic highlands and cutting down the natural binding of CO2 which happens when the muddy river comes naturally to the sea. This summer 80% of icelands energy will be going to 3 Aluminum companies.
All of Icelands extraordinary rivers and beautiful geothermal areas are currently in danger of being turned in to a power factory for aluminum smelting. This park is mostly around areas unsuitible for creating electricity. The government is likely to "un-reserve" this area as well if the aluminum companies need more electricity.
female
2007-03-29 09:06:57
If Alcoa cares so much for the wilderness in Iceland they should never have built one of their aluminium smelters here.
To advertise that they embrace the decision on Vatnajokull National Park is distasteful and arrogant.
Petur Thorleifsson
2007-03-30 02:07:01
First we have the Karahnjukar project, the worst environmental scandal in Europe, in favour of one smelter of Alcoa and then we have a national park, which Alcoa wants to stamp it´s logo on, saying how wonderfully it thinks of the environment.
Like the boss of Alcoa slipped his tongue in Brazil about the electricityprice : “But the agreed price — 30 dollars per megawatt-hour — was far from ideal. In Iceland, the company pays half that.”
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