Alcoa Executive Highlights Green Design Trends at GreenInfoTech Summit

NEW YORK--The growth of aluminum in consumer electronics was in the spotlight at the GreenInfoTech Summit in Atlanta today, when Randall Scheps, Alcoa’s Director of Consumer Electronics Market Development, addressed senior IT executives and corporate sustainability policy makers on aluminum’s role in the future of sustainable design.

“Alcoa recognizes that rapid growth in the consumer electronics market creates sustainability challenges, and aluminum is part of the solution,” said Scheps. “Not only can aluminum be recycled infinitely without the need for downcycling, the metal’s light weight, durability, heat conductivity and limitless surface finishes are making it a preferred choice over plastics by designers, manufacturers and consumers.“

Consumer electronics represents a fast-growing market for aluminum, with the aluminum content in LCD TV’s and laptops alone expected to increase by 465 percent and 30 percent by 2013 respectively, from a 2010 baseline.

To further close the sustainability loop, Alcoa recently took a 10 percent stake in Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), the largest electronic waste recycler in North America. Through this partnership, Alcoa brings recycling expertise to the growing challenge of e-waste, enhancing the role aluminum plays in making electronics more sustainable.

The GreenInfoTech Summit was held at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center in Atlanta. The educational forum is aimed at senior IT and business decision makers who are actively implementing or beginning to formulate more sustainable computing strategies. The event is designed to showcase thought leadership, environmentally friendly technologies, green innovations and the latest tools and techniques.

For more information on Alcoa’s leadership in consumer electronics, visit www.alcoa.com/con_electronics.

About Alcoa
Alcoa (NYSE:AA) is the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world’s largest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for nine consecutive years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 59,000 people in 31 countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.