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SUSTAINABILITY AND ALUMINUM
"Sustainability is a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely. In other words, meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs."
"Sustainability has become a mainstream issue, a corporate culture that emphasizes environmental stewardship, economic contribution, and social responsibility. Companies that embrace sustainability principles are gaining widespread acceptance by industrial and end-use customers. The aluminum industry is ideally positioned to take advantage of this development.
Global Development and production growth, climate change, and waste disposal issues thrust environmental concerns to the forefront with consumers and industry around the world, driving the demand for "green" products and services.
Environmental concerns foster recognition of aluminum products as an "energy bank". The electrical energy embedded in aluminum can be considered and "energy bank" because aluminum products can be endlessly remanufactured with only 5% of the energy and emission originally required to produce the virgin product.
From a sustainability viewpoint aluminum's high life-cycle value and recyclability make it the best option for retaining this "banked" energy and should be promoted vigorously.
Life -cycle analysis assumes increased importance. Life-cycle performance figure prominently in materials selection and product design, emphasizing product value over original cost. Aluminum's unique range of engineering capabilities, light weight, corrosion resistance, high thermal and electrical conductivity, and recyclability increasingly serve as the basis for its use in new applications and product forms.
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