Alcoa retains spots on most sustainable companies list

Alcoa announced January 29 that it was named as one of the most sustainable corporations in the world in the fifth annual Global 100 ranking of the top role models in sustainable business practices, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Alcoa has attained the sustainability ranking every year since the Global 100 was launched in 2005. Alcoa is the only U.S. based company named to the list from the Materials sector.

The Global 100 includes companies from 15 countries encompassing all sectors of the economy. The companies were evaluated on how effectively they manage environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities in relation to their industry peers.

This year, the 100 companies were traced back to their year of origin to see what kind of longevity they have demonstrated in managing stakeholder relationships. In all, 46 of the 2009 Global 100 companies have been in existence for at least 100 years.

The list was created by Canadian media company Corporate Knights Inc. and international investment advisory firm Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, which specializes in analyzing “non-traditional” drivers of risk and shareholder value.

Alcoa continues to be on the leading edge of sustainable practices. Alcoa is a proponent of legislation to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and recently joined with fellow members of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) in launching a climate protection initiative, called the Blueprint for Legislative Action, which includes policy recommendations on confronting climate change and supports a U.S. cap-and-trade program. The company is a founding member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, which is seeking mandatory climate change legislation, and is a founding reporter of the Climate Registry. In addition, Alcoa invests in new technologies, such as the groundbreaking carbon capture technology, which delivers significant greenhouse benefits by locking up CO2 that is otherwise released into the atmosphere. In 2007, Alcoa opened its first smelter in 20 years in Iceland powered by sustainable hydropower, and is currently evaluating geothermal as a power source for aluminum smelting.