Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today that it is among 60 corporations pilot testing a draft protocol for accounting and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across a product's life cycle. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative is being launched by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
WRI and WBCSD have developed two new GHG Protocol standards, the Product Life Cycle Accounting and Report Standard and the Scope 3 (Corporate Value Chain) Accounting and Reporting Standard. Alcoa will test the Product Standard by measuring the climate change impact of its aluminum forged wheels.
"We are pleased to participate in the evaluation of this new standard and anticipate the results will allow us to better calculate and communicate the impacts of our products on climate change. We feel the forged wheel would be an excellent study, as it is a product which provides sustainability benefits by reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions through its usage," said Tim Myers, President, Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products.
The road testing process will provide real-world feedback to ensure the standards can be practically implemented by companies from a variety of sectors, sizes and geographic areas around the world. Companies participating in the road testing represent 17 countries from every continent and more than 20 industry sectors. Alcoa's learnings from the multi-month evaluation and results will contribute to publication of final standards in late 2010.