Alan Cransberg addressed an American Chamber of Commerce in Australia breakfast in Perth on 22 February 2011
[Holds up a lump of bauxite – big fist size]
This beautiful lump of bauxite contains enough aluminium to make 16 cans! Of course we’ve got to get the metal out – that happens at our alumina refineries here in WA.
That got me thinking – our biggest refinery – down at Pinjarra – produces enough alumina everyday to make 411 million cans per day – or 100 jumbo jets per day.
If you think that Australia as a nation consumes three billion cans a year (just over 50% in soft drinks, 30% in beer, then your other bits and pieces) – we’re servicing that need in a week. Aluminium of course, is one of the world’s most versatile and enduring materials used for much more than beverage cans, as you will see today.
As the world emerges from the recent economic downturn (more slowly in some parts than others), and as the threat of climate change is more in our faces than ever, we know we are facing a new reality, and we know we have to work harder to get it right for future generations – fiscally, environmentally.
Today I want to explain to you the critical role Alcoa, and our product - aluminium – will play in this new world....
No one knows aluminium like Alcoa. We invented the aluminium-making process more than 120 years ago and have been creating new and innovative ways for people to tap into the power of aluminium ever since.
Today, we are using that experience in every corner of the globe to develop solutions that are more efficient, more sustainable and more appealing than ever before.
From greener buildings and lightweight buses to strong aeroplanes and the iconic aluminium can, Alcoa continues to lead the way.
What makes it all possible? Aluminium -- the most versatile, sustainable and infinitely recyclable material in the world -- and the people who perfected it.
Let me tell you what we do here in Australia:
Alcoa in Australia
- Investment in Australia for over 40 years - >$12 billion.
- A major employer – >6000 employees predominantly in regional Australia.
- One of Australia’s leading exporters.
- Alcoa’s operations contributed around $4 billion in exports in 2010 – WA’s 5th biggest exporter.
- World’s largest bauxite mine operation at Huntly and Willowdale – world recognised for our rehabilitation processes.
- Three refineries in WA - Alumina produced by Alcoa in WA accounts for around 11% of world demand.
- Two smelters in Victoria, producing 513,000 tonnes a year of wonderful aluminium that goes all over the world into planes, cars, ships… buildings, computers, furniture.. the list is endless.
- And in Yennora in NSW, western Sydney, we operate the country’s largest aluminium recycling facility…
Recycling
Here are some fast facts – did you know…..
- Nearly 75% of all aluminium ever created is still in use today.
- Using recycled material for new aluminium uses 95% less energy and produces 95% less greenhouse gas emissions than making metal from new materials.
- When you recycle an aluminium can, it is turned into a new can and can be back in your fridge within 60 days.
- Every beverage can made in Australia is made from Alcoa’s aluminium. 100% Australian made, 100% recyclable and our goal is to make it from 100% recycled content.
- Actually, the aluminium beverage can is the world’s most recycled container - more than 69% of all cans are recycled worldwide.
- In Australia we have around 67% recycle rate of cans – not bad if you think in 1973 this rate sat at just 9%!
- We still have some work to do in Australia to boost today’s rate – Alcoa’s recycling partnership with Sustainability Victoria goes part way to achieve that, and there’ll be more to come – stay tuned!
Sustainability
Alcoa has been recognised worldwide for its leadership in sustainability. It has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for nine consecutive years and listed as Most Admired Company by Fortune magazine for 27 consecutive years. We’ve achieved Employer of Choice for Women status nine times in a row, and there is plenty more.
Climate change
Since 1990, here in Australia, Alcoa has achieved considerable direct GHG emissions reduction per tonne of production:
- Our aluminium smelters are down by 65%.
That’s like changing all your light bulbs from incandescent to energy-friendly, or every four-wheel drive having the economy of a Prius.
- Our alumina refineries are down by 21% from 1990 levels – and we were in pretty good place to start with!
- And our aluminium rolling operations in Australia are down by 23% from 1990 levels.
Alcoa globally has achieved a total direct greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 44% over 1990 levels - despite growth in production, and a 61% reduction based on per tonne/aluminium produced.
And our recycling activities in NSW avoid the generation of over 1m tonnes of greenhouse gases per annum.
Next year Alcoa of Australia will be celebrating 30 years partnership with Greening Australia – the longest corporate/not-for-profit partnership I believe – continuing to do truly great work in managing productive, profitable and sustainable environments.
We also contribute in all our Australian operating regions to Alcoa’s Ten Million Trees Program - a commitment by the company to plant 10 million new trees, which can absorb more than 250,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year during their lifetime, by 2020. (This has nothing to do with our minesite rehab by the way.)
So if we accept that Alcoa conducts its business in a responsible and sustainable manner … that will help preserve our precious natural resources for generations to come … what is our future??
The future for Alcoa is strong, and it’s all because of aluminium – our miracle metal - the most versatile, sustainable and infinitely recyclable material in the world.
Let’s take a look at the way the world is going…
Megatrends
Demographic change; Urbanisation ; Climate Change; Resource Scarcity; Increasing mobility.
We live in a constantly changing world that requires us to react and adapt quickly. As our world prepares to deal with a rapidly growing population, ever-expanding cities and an unprecedented demand for energy, Alcoa is finding ways to meet today’s challenges with innovative aluminium solutions.
Our miracle metal
- Aluminium is strong and lightweight, highly conductive, amazingly versatile, and endlessly recyclable.
- It is an ideal material in a world that is experiencing population growth, urbanization and a growing demand for energy.
- Alcoa first used aluminium to produce teakettles in 1890!! Since then, our metals have been used in everything from buildings and baseball bats to Ferraris and fighter jets.
(Of course, I can’t pretend everything has been a success….remember Dennis Lillee and his aluminium cricket bat…?)
Buildings
Aluminium makes cool buildings look cool! A six-story office building using aluminium sustainable product can drive up to 20% energy savings over a similar building - saving 157 tonnes of CO2 per year over its 50 years of use.
The Value that Green Buildings Provide:
- Custom curtain wall options - earthquake proof.
- Recycled content billet; C2C certification.
- 95% of aluminum in buildings is recycled.
- 13% lower maintenance costs.
- 27% higher occupant satisfaction.
- Consumes 26% less energy.
Consumer electronics
The hippest laptops and mobile phones are incorporating Alcoa aluminium for a sleek, modern look that appeals to consumers. The use of aluminium improves durability and gives electronics an authentic, natural feel. And it’s a conductive metal – important.
Automotive
Replacing just two kilos of heavy steel with one kilo of aluminium saves 20 kilos of carbon emissions over the life of a car.
Consumers can get a 5 to 7% vehicle gas mileage increase for every 10% weight reduction by substituting high-strength, low-weight auto aluminium for heavier steel. And of course recycling aluminium conserves landfill space and significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Alcoa and Yutong Bus Co., China's largest bus manufacturer, developed an environmentally-friendly bus design to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel economy.
And Alcoa’s wheels are not only lightweight, but our Dura-Bright® technology resists corrosion and eliminates the need for polishing. Dura-Bright is not a coating or a finish, but a proprietary surface treatment that penetrates and reacts with the aluminium, thus becoming an integral part of the wheel.
Air travel
Alcoa helped launched the aerospace age by developing more than 90% of the aluminium alloys used today in aircraft and space flight.
Of course it was Alcoa’s aluminium that helped the Wright Brothers take to the skies in the first flight in Kitty Hawk. We helped space exploration using aluminium during the Lunar Landing and making the launch of the Space Shuttle possible.
In fact: A study by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg, concludes that light-weighting passenger cars, trucks, rail vehicles, nautical vessels, etc. has the potential to avoid almost 700 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year. (IFEU)
Summary
Alcoa’s solutions are evident in nearly every industry including packaging, ground transportation, building & construction, consumer electronics, and aerospace. Alcoa is ranked #1 or #2 in more than 90% of the businesses in which it operates.
Right here in WA, at Kwinana, we operate Alcoa’s global refining Research and Development group – a big collection of PhDs and scientists that sit admirably alongside CSIRO and others.
And Alcoa operates the USA’s largest non-ferrous research centre in Pittsburgh, PA with more than 575 materials researchers who work on a wide range of commercial applications – from Boeing to Pepsi, Ford to Coke.
(One of these centres worries about how we make it – sustainably - the other about how we use it cleverly!)
By the way - Alcoa opened its first research and development centre in 1918 and we have never stopped searching for new, innovative ways to use aluminium! We invest approximately 1% of our revenues each year in R&D.
To conclude:
Our local challenges
If you agree after seeing all this today that the world needs aluminium, and you think maybe Alcoa is the company to do it, you‘ll be please to know our future here in Australia is strong! Not without enduring challenges however!
We need to continue to work with the Government of WA to achieve a competitive domestic gas market that works for us all, industry and householders alike.
We need to continue to work with the Federal Government to achieve certainty over carbon pricing.
We need to continue to work with all government and community stakeholders on forward thinking practices around water and environmental management.
We need to continue to play our part in local employment and helping to build stronger communities.
Thanks to the many of you here who will be involved in that journey – and thank YOU - for all the great work you do - to make this a State we are proud to be a part of.
