Hydro Annual Report 2011b

Qatalum, where Hydro holds a 50 percent share, started production
in the end of 2009 and reached full production in September
2011. The products are well received in the market, and
Qatalum has now entered a new phase of enhancing its operational
efficiency. The company aims to be a catalyst for growth
in the manufacturing sector in Qatar. This includes the purchase
of goods and services.
Construction of the expansion from one to three extrusion press
lines in Suzhou, China has started. Two of the lines will be for
precision tubes and the third for general extruded products, targeting
customers mainly in the Chinese market. Hydro is following
up a stakeholder engagement plan that emphasizes
company principles in the area of corporate social responsibility.
The plan includes contractors and suppliers. The main suppliers
have already signed declarations stating compliance with these
principles, and they will be audited.
Hydro’s extrusion plant, Acro, outside São Paulo in Brazil also
will be expanded with one press line, in addition to the three
existing ones.
The CAP Project covers the CAP alumina refinery project of 1.86
million metric tons per year as well as the expansion of the Paragominas
mine to 14.85 million mt per year. Through the vale
transaction, Hydro’s ownership in the project increased from 20
percent to 81 percent. The refinery was originally approved and
project execution commenced in 2008. Construction has been
postponed several times, most recently in March 2012.
Dialog with affected parties
We have a long tradition of conducting a dialog with the relevant
parties affected by our activities, such as unions, works
councils, customers, suppliers, business partners, local authorities
and non-governmental organizations. Stakeholder dialog is
based on our experience and principles developed by an international
working group headed by the Institute of Social and Ethical
Accountability. We identify and initiate dialog to ensure that
all views are aired and our decisions communicated. In major
projects, stakeholder dialog is a requirement of Hydro directives,
local law, World Bank guidelines, the Equator Principles,
Qualifying local youth
In 2011, Hydro opened a new technical college in Paragominas in
Pará, Brazil. The school is run by the federal organization SINAI and
is an important contribution to educating skilled workers for the
industry and giving local youth the possibility of an education. The
first 100 students started in August 2011, and 65 of the students
are apprentices with Hydro. At full capacity, the college may have
600 students from Paragominas and the neighboring communities.
Since the start-up in 2006, the Paragominas Mine has had 800
apprentices, of which 80 percent are still with Hydro. Apprenticeship
programs are common at most major Hydro sites. Our extrusion
plant Acro, also in Brazil, started in 2011 an apprentice program for
19 adolescents. For many of these, the apprenticeship represents an
opportunity for a better life.
vIABIlItY perForMAnCe
Community impact
61
et al. This includes the principle of free, prior and informed consent
when indigenous peoples are involved.
Hydro has a long tradition in maintaining good dialog with
the employees’ representatives. This includes involvement at
an early stage in restructuring processes. In our new Bauxite &
Alumina operations in Brazil, we seek to bring with us our
tradition for open and successful collaboration between management
and unions. Around the time of the closing of the
acquisition, top union representatives from Norway met with
local union representatives in Pará to carve out a way forward,
formalizing and coordinating union dialog across new and old
parts of Hydro. The dialog started off on a positive note and
continued throughout 2011.
We have also established contact with local authorities and
representatives for our neighbors. This includes dialog with
traditional Quilombola groups, see page 58.
An important part of communication with employees was
Hydro’s Brazil Summit in which 150 employees participated
together with the CEO and other Hydro executives. Most of the
participants had leadership positions, but blue-collar workers
were also represented. Our program Hydro fundamentals, in
which 120 Brazilian leaders participated during 2011, is important
for knowledge sharing and for understanding the Hydro
values. Our ambition is to have the other employees go through
an adapted version of Hydro fundamentals in 2012.
When needed, employees are given the opportunity to put
questions over the intranet to top management. It is possible
to ask questions in person or anonymously, and answers are
posted simultanously through net meetings on the intranet.
President & CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg has his own blog
on our intranet where employees can add their comments, also
in person or anonymously.
Sponsorships and community investments
In 2011, Hydro spent more than NOK 61 million on community
investments, charitable donations and sponsorships of
which more than half was related to community investments.
Giving something back
Most Hydro plants are involved in social activities, which mean
giving something back to the local communities. Hydro’s extrusion
plant in North Liberty, Indiana, in the U.S., has a long tradition
of providing monetary contributions to non-profit agencies.
Employees raise money through sales of homemade breakfast
and lunch food items, hand-crafted items, raffles, cash, and food
donations. In 2011, Hydro’s St. Augustine plant in Florida was
given special recognition by the St. John’s County School District
and was honored as the Outstanding Business Partner. The plant
has a continuing partnership with local Hartley Elementary School,
and has been donating both time and funds to the Advanced
Reader program for the past five years