May 2013
| Business World Magazine | 169
to achieve a delicate relationship on “both
sides of the aisle” with all levels of govern-
ment, Brock says. “It’s a continuous educa-
tional process because there’s always turn-
over with people that are responsible for
regulating you or inspecting your operations.
It’s a continuous educational process for us
to convey what we’re doing in the aluminum
industry – how we’re doing it and how we’re
working to operate safely and sustainably.”
“It’s also an opportunity for us to be lis-
tening for a chance to do more research or
take new positions,” she adds.
Because of their well-maintained gov-
ernment relationships, the Association has
been successful in influencing government
policy. For example, their Vice-President of
Environment and Health and Safety Charles
Johnson recently testified on the association’s
behalf during hearings on recycling legisla-
tion. “We have a very good dialogue going
with the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to help them understand the impact
of some of the things they are imposing that
might prevent us from offering them other
solutions,” Brock says. With respect to the
environment, the Association commissioned
the first Aluminum Industry Sustainability
report for North America last year. It de-
scribed the uniqueness of aluminum among
metals and materials. The report stated that
75 per cent of all aluminum ever produced is
