Alcoa has committed to reducing the energy intensity of its downstream manufacturing operations in the United States by 25 percent by 2020 as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Save Energy Now Leader initiative.
Save Energy Now is a national initiative aimed at reducing industrial energy intensity by providing U.S. companies with access to technical support and expertise to help them take steps toward becoming more energy efficient.
“Alcoa has long recognized that energy efficiency is central to our success as a company,” said Rick Bowen, president, Alcoa Energy. “We are pleased to partner with the Department of Energy not only to improve our own performance, but to provide a benchmark that could help other companies reach their goals.”
Leader companies serve as role models for others interested in energy efficiency, according to the Department of Energy, providing a model for strategies to reduce costs and improve environmental performance. Alcoa has placed all U.S. manufacturing locations other than aluminum smelting in the program and pledged to reduce energy intensity 25 percent by 2020 from a 2005 baseline. These downstream manufacturing locations produce a variety of products, such as turbine fan blades for jet engines, aluminum sheet used to make cans and Reynobond, an aluminum composite used on the exteriors of commercial buildings. Alcoa’s U.S. aluminum smelters have separate goals.
To reach its energy goals, Alcoa has formed a Global Energy Efficiency Team to coordinate energy efficiency activities across the company and share best practices.
Alcoa was one of five companies that recently joined the voluntary Leader initiative, which now numbers more than 60 companies. Joining Alcoa in the leader program are CalPortland, Glendora, Calif.; Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport, Tenn.; Raytheon Corporation, Waltham, Mass.; and Lufkin Industries, Lufkin, Texas.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for eight consecutive years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 59,000 people in 31 countries across the world.
