According to statistics from the Environment Agency of Iceland, the emission of greenhouse gases because of aluminum production in Iceland decreased by 22 percent between 1990 and 2006, despite production increasing from 90,000 to 270,000 tons.
“Icelandic aluminum smelters have generally been very successful in reducing pollution,” Kristján Geirsson, divisional director at the Environment Agency, told Morgunbladid.
“They have an adaptation period of up to four years from when production begins and until the goal should be reached in this matter, and that has worked out,” Geirsson said, adding that there is still room for further improvement on reducing greenhouse gases.
The employees of Alcan in Iceland said the company is not always given justice.
Director of the company’s environment and development department, Gudrún Thóra Magnúsdóttir, said Alcan alone had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent between 1990 and 2006 while the production of aluminum increased from 88,000 to 180,000 tons.
Magnúsdóttir said Alcan is part of the Icelandic society and wants the public to accept it. “Unfortunately that is not always the case. We are sorry about that because we consider ourselves leading in many fields and we can be a role model for other companies.”
