New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) is back in top spot in this category after winning in 2004 for its workplace safety programme and being a finalist in 2006 for its efforts to eliminate waste. This year it has again led the way by effectively tackling the climate change challenge from the board to the smelter floor.
NZAS and Rio Tinto (managing owner and a key customer of NZAS) believe that emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) resulting from human activities are contributing to climate change. They consider that avoiding human caused changes to the climate is an important international goal and that the world needs to reduce emissions of green house gases.
NZAS defines its core purpose as being to create the most sustainable value from its resources and relationships. Their Strategic Map identifies Key Result Areas that include Environment and Communities where it aims to be Best in Class with Greenhouse Performance, Waste and Water Management, No Environmental Harm and Enduring Relationships with Communities. Annually the NZAS management team review with the Board these high-level commitments and their supporting Key Performance Indicators which include emissions reduction targets and are required to report progress monthly and annually.
Through a cluster of projects, known as PFC ZerO Project, NZAS has been able to halve emissions of perfluorocarbon (PFC) greenhouse gases. PFC’s are caused by an event called an Anode Effect due to process instability, and are a common issue grappled with in the worldwide aluminium industry. A number of specially trained project and technical leaders as well as many operations and maintenance employees have been engaged in the work. A rigorous technical problem solving methodology called Six Sigma was used to manage the project.
The improvements have reduced PFC emissions by 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year and will produce around 120 tonnes per year of extra aluminium through recovering wasted power. This project as well as others aimed at energy efficiency has achieved annual emissions savings of over 420,000 tonnes of CO2 per year since 1990 – a 40% reduction and equivalent to taking approximately 120,000 cars permanently off the road. The improvements have lifted NZAS from a middle ranking smelter to the top 5% of the world’s 200 plus smelters.
To view videos of 2007 Ethical Governance Award winners and finalists visit www.management.co.nz/top200/default.html - you may be asked to download the latest Adobe Flash Player version 9.0.124.0 to run the videos
