MONTREAL, June 2 - Rio Tinto Alcan is pleased to
co-present the free outdoor program for the 2008 Festival International de
Jazz de Montreal for the third consecutive year. Rio Tinto Alcan will also
contribute to offsetting the carbon emissions of the Festival, making it
carbon neutral for the first time.
"It is with great pleasure that Rio Tinto Alcan once again takes an
active part in one of the world's premier music festivals, the Festival
International de Jazz de Montreal," said Dick Evans, chief executive, Rio
Tinto Alcan.
"This four-year sponsorship commitment of over $6 million runs through
to 2010 and reinforces Rio Tinto Alcan's ongoing commitment to Montreal,
our home town. Furthermore, in keeping with our sustainability mindset, we
are proud to help make it one of the first major events of its kind in
North America to be carbon neutral," added Evans.
The Rio Tinto Alcan stage, at the Saint-Catherine's Street entrance of
the Complexe Desjardins, will be the site of numerous free concerts
throughout the Festival. On July 6, Rio Tinto Alcan will once again host
the grand closing event - a free outdoor concert featuring acclaimed
Guinean artist Mory Kante.
Rio Tinto Alcan also sponsors the Invitation series of concerts at the
Place des Arts, featuring jazz greats Hank Jones, McCoy Tyner and Dave
Brubeck. The popular Rio Tinto Alcan Musical Park and the Little Jazz
School returns in 2008, providing families with free access to a variety of
outdoor fun including games, educational activities, face-painting and
creation of musical instruments from aluminium.
"Each year the city of Montreal vibrates to the rhythms of the Festival
and we are proud to be a part of it. As in previous years, Rio Tinto Alcan
will support the Festival's recycling and waste reduction program that
allows for the recuperation of approximately 20.5 tonnes of material every
year. Aluminium and recycling go hand-in-hand, so sponsoring this program
is a natural for Rio Tinto Alcan," said Jacynthe Cote, president and chief
executive officer of the Rio Tinto Alcan Primary Metal business unit.
"Climate change is a global challenge and we all must do our part to
minimise its impacts. Since 1990 Rio Tinto Alcan has reduced its greenhouse
gas emissions intensity by 60 per cent in Canada. By offsetting the carbon
emissions of the 2008 Festival, we will help contribute to its
sustainability and we will be making one more step in the right direction,"
added Cote.
"We are very happy of our continuing partnership with Rio Tinto Alcan,"
said Alain Simard, Festival International de Jazz de Montreal president and
founder. "Year after year, our fruitful collaboration allows the Festival
to increase its offering to music lovers through a growing number of
activities and free shows."
To neutralize the Festival's emissions-estimated at 2,000 tonnes of C02
equivalent-Rio Tinto Alcan will purchase Gold Standard certified offsets
through Planetair. This unique collaboration between Rio Tinto Alcan, the
Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, the Fonds d'action quebecois
pour le developpement durable and Planetair is breaking new ground in
developing and making publicly accessible tools to reduce major events'
climate footprints, including an emissions calculation methodology and a
guide to organizing climate-friendly major events.
The 2008 Festival International de Jazz de Montreal opens on June 26
and closes on July 6. For more than 11 days and nights, Montreal will roll
out the red carpet for over 3,000 musicians from every corner of the globe.
From jazz to soul to blues, with detours through traditional music, electro
and folk, the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal promises to
enchant music lovers of all ages.
About Planetair
Founded in 2005, Planetair is a programme of the Unisfera International
centre, a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation specialised in
sustainable development. Planetair is committed to offering the highest
quality climate protection solution to enable individuals, organizations
and companies to reduce their climate footprint Planetair is Canada's first
provider of Gold Standard offsets having entered into a strategic
partnership with myclimate, one of the top offset suppliers in the world.
About the FAQDD
The Fonds d'action quebecois pour le developpement durable (FAQDD) is a
non-profit organization whose mission is to help create and provide
financial support to high-impact, structuring projects that, through
sustainable development, will change practices as well as individual and
collective behaviours. Since 2001, the FAQDD provided financial support to
213 projects, 121 grants and 101 internships, for a total of $43 million,
all invested in Quebec.
About Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the
UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio
Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral
resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and
uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc)
and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in
Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America,
Asia, Europe and southern Africa.
See Also
