Alcan aims to make sustainability ‘part of the fabric’

Speaking following the launch of a new group-wide initiative to encourage sustainable projects and behaviour among staff, Michael Rubenstein said that the company was launching a new focus on sustainability for both environmental and community-based projects.

Rubestein, who is chief growth and innovation officer for Alcan Packaging, told Packaging News: “It’s something we want to make sure is entrenched in our culture here, both personally and professionally. It needs to be part of the fabric.”

The programme, ‘Sustainability Moments’, launched last Friday (5 June) to coincide with World Environment Day and is based on Alcan’s three ‘P’ approach to sustainable practices that focuses on the planet, people and profit.

Staff at the group’s 130 sites across the world have been given a catalogue of activities they can run to promote sustainable practices in their local communities, such as tree-planting programmes, landscaping of neighbouring sites, food donations and others.

They were also given a game last Friday that is designed to give employees an insight into their own carbon footprint and to spark debate about the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability.

Rubenstein said: “Sustainability means different things to different people, but the key strategy is to make it relevant and focused for everyone.”

Rubenstein declined to comment on the status of ongoing negotiations over the sale of Alcan Packaging by its owner, mining giant Rio Tinto.