Alcoa continues green lead

Enviromine

Alcoa Inc has been awarded a top spot in the 2008 Covalence ethical ranking, a methodology that gauges the reputation of international companies. Alcoa, which is also ranked in the FTSE4Good listing and is a founding member of the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), was rated one of the top ten ethical companies across all sectors.

Covalence, a Geneva-based NGO, monitors over 500 companies in 18 different business sectors. Its methodology for assessing the ethical reputation of businesses has become a barometer for how companies are perceived in the social field, Alcoa said. Data is classified in 45 fields, including labour relations, human rights policy and waste management. Alcoa has been ranked in the top ten in all industries and first in the mining and metals industry since the ranking began in 2005.

“Our values guide our behaviour at every level across Alcoa worldwide,” Klaus Kleinfeld, chief executive, said. Alcoa has also been involved in the launch of a new climate-protection initiative as part of its work with USCAP. The Blueprint for Legislative Action includes policy recommendations for the US government to address climate change issues.

The initiative, developed through two years of analysis and consensus-building, includes an aggressive emissions reduction schedule and proposes cutting US greenhouse emissions by 80% of 2005 levels by 2050 through a cap-and-trade programme.

“The blueprint provides a pathway which would help businesses like Alcoa achieve progressive climate protection goals, while delivering on our commitment to shareholders to compete and grow,” Mr Kleinfeld said.