Aluminum—meeting the challenges of climate change

The aluminum industry, through the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), has developed a number of objectives for improvement in the environmental performance of its production facilities. The IAI measures performance against these objectives on an annual basis. The latest data indicates that the industry, while doubling production since 1990, has reduced its emissions of perfluorocarbon greenhouse gases by almost 80% over the same period. However, the largest potential for emission reduction is through the use of aluminum products in energy-saving applications, such as lightweight vehicles, green buildings, and packaging that protects food and medicines, as well as through the recycling of these products at the end of their useful life.